The Island
by Mic RiddyBanon
Summary: "Would love to see your take on what would happen if Slade took Oliver, Felicity, Lance, Laurel, Sara, Thea, Digg & Moira to the island to relive Oliver's personal hell." Story Bunny by KenyanCougar. Complete mixture of angst, friendship, hurt/comfort, team fic, family, & if the Muse is willing – Olicity fluff. Reveal fic & onw. enjoy! - Roy's now with us! (Cover art is my own.)
1. The Amazo

**The Island**

Story Bunny provided by KenyanCougar – this story is for you!  
_"Would love to see your take on what would happen if Slade took Oliver, Felicity, Lance, Laurel, Sara, Thea, Digg and Moira to the island to relive Oliver's personal hell."_

**Chapter 1 – The Amazo**

**AN: Thanks go primarily to KenyanCougar for the wonderful plot provided for me to play with! (Especially as it was provided the day before my birthday lol.) Rennie75 thank you as always my friend for your wonderful beta job & for giving me ongoing confidence. Hope you all enjoy my present to you all on my birthday :-)**

**AN2: Whilst this fic starts with just Sara & Oliver's POV it will go on to include many others too.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Arrow or anything related to it in any way shape or form, all legal rights to Arrow belong to CW. I am only playing in their sandbox and take no profit but pleasure from this fic.**

* * *

_**Sara's POV**_

Sara hated this place more than any other. The Amazo. This was where she had come closest to losing her entire being. Despite everything she'd done since then this was the place it had all begun, where Ivo had twisted her, and where she had let him.

She knew from the second that she recognised the Amazo that they were in trouble. Slade was in control of the freighter, had been for years now. That place had been a living nightmare with Ivo in control and she knew that Slade would only have made it worse. Sara was worried for Oliver, it was taking him longer to come round than the rest of them; but then she knew that Slade would have given him more of whatever sedative it was he'd chosen to use this time. Slade knew as well as she did that Oliver had a high tolerance to medications and he would have adjusted for that.

Sara was also worried about the effect that being back in these cells, again, would have on him. Sara knew that Oliver wouldn't even have told Diggle and Felicity much about what had happened on the Island, let alone what had happened here. But she knew, she was there with him for some of it, she saw the aftermath in his eyes. Oliver had been tortured here by Ivo; and it was also where he first went up against Slade and was tortured by him.

Sara would never forget the sounds of Oliver screaming over the radio as Slade had tortured him using the generator for the electricity. That was the first time she had truly had to decide if one person's life was more important than another's. She remembered that to start with she had refused to do it, to make the trade. Sara had lied to Slade about the engineer making safely to the Island. But Slade had heard the lie in her voice and in response had turned up the electricity, she still blamed herself for that. Sara had had nightmares of Oliver's screams for a long time afterwards, still did at times now if she was being honest – and being back here certainly wasn't going to help. _And it will be even harder on Oliver, _Sara thought darkly.

Just because she wasn't together with Oliver any more didn't she didn't still care for him. Sara would always care for Oliver, just as she knew he would always care for Laurel. But all they really had was the past. She and Oliver had both come to accept that they couldn't move forwards until they let go of the past. The one thing that Slade was incapable of doing it seemed.

Oliver was taking too long to come round now and Sara could see that Felicity and Diggle were thinking the same. Felicity was closest to him and Sara couldn't help but wonder if that was by design. They had still been unable to discover if Slade knew that Felicity was Oliver's heart.

**_Oliver's POV_**

Oliver came to in a metal cell on a freighter, again. He was getting really fed up of regaining consciousness only to discover he was stuck in a cell.

"Oliver!" _Wait, that was Felicity's voice what was Felicity doing here?_ This place looked familiar. It only took him a minute to realize this was the one cell he really did _not_ want to wake up in, he was back on the Amazo - and he wasn't alone. He looked around and saw that Felicity, Diggle, and Sara were also in cells, but far enough away from each other that they couldn't reach one another.

Apart from them though Oliver could only see guards with bigger builds than Diggle. Oliver knew all too well though that size was not the important thing in a fight, speed and skill were. You only had to go up against Sara once to learn that! Before he had a chance to say anything however Slade walked in, surrounded by his mirakuru enhanced army. He was shocked by who else was with them though as first his mom, then Walter came into sight, being pushing forward at gunpoint.

"I told you I would make you completely despair kid, before I killed you." Slade took a step to the side as he spoke revealing Thea standing behind him, tears running down her face. "Sara, you brought Ivo to this Island in the first place, you are part of the reason _**she is dead**_." Slade roared at Sara, making Thea cry all the more. Slade called to the guys standing by the doorway "Bring hers in too." He instructed them before turning to stare at Sara.

"Sara!" Lance cried out in relief as he saw his younger daughter.

Oliver knew that Lance was worried about Sara being caught up in this too, but he could understand the Detective's relief – after all, Lance knew what Sara was capable of. Oliver knew that if he was in Lance's place he would be relieved to see Sara too – heck he _was_ relieved to see her. Much as he wished she wasn't caught up in all this Oliver knew that she was as much a part of it as him and that their chances for escape were much better together than alone.

"Oh and I almost forgot..." Slade gave a smile that truly scared Oliver before he nodded to the guys at the door again and Laurel was brought in at gunpoint. "You nearly wore that photo of her out kid staring at it all the time, did you think I'd forget?" Slade was laughing then.

At one time Oliver would have done nearly anything to make the man he'd called brother laugh, but now he despaired of the sound. It took every ounce of self-control he had not to react or respond to Slade beyond the initial half-pace forward he'd taken on seeing his family stuck in this place too. One place and time he had _never_ wanted them to know about.

"Just like I didn't forget what happened the first time we were on this freighter together. I'm sure you can remember the feel of the electricity coursing through your body Oliver." Slade continued revealing things Oliver had never wanted his family and friends to know about.

Oliver stayed quiet, refusing to rise to Slade's bait, his taunts.

"Or maybe I'm wrong? Maybe I need to refresh your memory kid. I see from Sara's face _she_ hasn't forgotten the sound of your screams. Perhaps we should treat the rest of your family and friends to the joys of that particular sound too kid. Shall I get the generator brought down here?"

"You can do what you want to me Slade. Leave them out of it, this has nothing to do with them it's between you and me."

"_**Wrong****!**_ It has everything to do with them!" Slade shouted back angrily. "You care about these people. I told you that caring makes you weak, makes you vulnerable. But you wouldn't listen would you kid. So this is all down to you! _You_ brought them into it. I told you you would not die until you have known true despair – well that time is getting closer my friend. You might have managed to survive here on your own, but let's see how good you are at keeping all of _them_ alive too." Slade finished ominously.

"It's time for you to go back kid … to Lian Yu."

* * *

**AN3: OK so this first chapter was basically an establishing one, sorry – but it was needed to set up the rest going forward. I really hope that you will stick with this fic, it is going to have a complete mixture of angst, friendship, hurt/comfort, team fic, family, & if the Muse is willing – Olicity fluff :-D Please do let me know what you think, fav, follow, & reviews are all very wonderful to me! Thank you!**


	2. Arrival

**Chapter 2 – Arrival**

**AN: Thank you so very much to all of you who have already shown your wonderful support with follows, favs, and reviews!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, the CW does.**

* * *

"_**Wrong**__! It has everything to do with them!" Slade shouted back angrily. "You care about these people. I told you that caring makes you weak, makes you vulnerable. But you wouldn't listen would you kid. So this is all down to you! You brought them into it. I told you you would not die until you have known true despair – well that time is getting closer my friend. You might have managed to survive here on your own, but let's see how good you are at keeping all of them alive too." Slade finished ominously._

"It's time for you to go back kid … to Lian Yu."

_**Third Party POV**_

Slade had forced them all out of the boats onto the beach at gunpoint and had guards in several other boats too as a back-up. Oliver and Sara had quickly made the decision for the group to head to the fuselage. They agreed that it was unlikely Slade would have left things as they had been when Oliver was rescued and it was important to find out what things and traps he'd left them.

Walter and Lance both realized that Oliver was not in the mood to talk about the torture Slade had revealed and had accepted that, as did his Team of course. However Moira, Thea, and Laurel were determined to ask him about it, much to Oliver's annoyance. _Couldn't they see he wasn't comfortable talking about this?!_

Moira gave up before the others, at Walter's urging, she was struggling hugely with feelings of guilt, it was _her fault _that Oliver had been caught up in all that. If Robert and she hadn't agreed to the Undertaking, hadn't allowed themselves to get embroiled in it all, then Oliver would never have been stranded here and had to go through _t__hat_.

Even though Moira had heard the doctor's report of Oliver's condition upon his return she had never truly stopped to think about what he'd been through to cause _that _she realized – and even if she had thought about it Moira doubted she would ever have considered electric shock torture! No wonder he had reacted so strongly when she tried to shake him awake that first night back home. Moira had always been concerned about that, had been unable to get it out of her head, but now for the first time she could understand just _why _he had reacted so fast and with almost deadly force.

Laurel was feeling left out, again. She didn't understand why Oliver continued to lie to her. Even when he was telling the truth he was still concealing far more than he ever let on. He had admitted to being tortured in that damn polygraph, yet still he had never explained exactly what had happened, never mentioned being shocked, never mentioned Slade for that matter. _How can I trust him when he won't even be honest with me?_

Even now he was holding back, refusing to tell them just what had happened. For goodness sake they'd just been faced with the genuine possibility of watching him being shocked again! _And still he won't talk … and Sara is just as bad. _Laurel couldn't believe that Sara had been there, had known what had happened and yet never talked about it. Why couldn't, _wouldn't, _her own sister be honest with her?!

Thea was feeling scared and lost. She'd seen the struggles her brother had gone through upon his return. She clearly remembered him saying that he needed to get better at talking about what happened to him but that he wasn't ready. It seemed now he never _would _be ready to talk willingly. _I can't believe __we just found out more in a few minutes from this psycho than we have in two_ years _from Oliver!_

At least now she could understand why Oliver had reacted the way he did to Mr Wilson showing up in their home. Thea had thought she'd understood when he'd kidnapped her, but now, knowing what he'd actually _done _to her brother … well it was no wonder Oliver had been as stiff as he had with Mr Wilson, or Slade as she now thought of him having decided he didn't deserve the respect of a title.

Despite that Thea knew that enough was enough. Secrets has been tearing her family apart for years now and every time she thought it was over, that the secrets were all gone, more came out. This had to stop! Oliver needed to talk to them, _properly _talk to them. _Whether he wants to or not! _Thea thought determinedly. It hadn't taken her long to realize they weren't going to survive this Island of Ollie's (and Sara's) nightmares unless they worked together, but without trust that just wasn't going to happen – and she couldn't trust without knowing the truth, the real truth this time. It wasn't as if he had even explained where they were going, just said something about a fuselage?

Thea was walking as far from Moira as she could manage and a fair way from Oliver too. She still hadn't completely forgiven him for keeping the secret about her father from her, even as she acknowledged that it had not been his secret to tell, let alone all the new secrets they were still discovering. Thankfully though Sara was close by so when she heard the definite 'click' she turned instantly and moved fast enough to stop Thea from taking another step.

"**Don't Move!**" Sara ordered, making it crystal clear that this was _not _a time to argue, despite seeing the look of confusion on Thea's face. "Ollie!" Sara yelled loudly, letting her concern and the urgency show in her voice.

Oliver was by Sara's side in an instant, he knew that if she'd called out like that then there had to be a _very _good reason – especially on this Island. It took him only a second to realize what had happened, and thankfully Diggle and Felicity were right behind him.

"Digg, Sara get the rest of them back, Felicity tell her what I'm going to do." Oliver ordered without stopping to explain what was going on. Moira, Walter, and Laurel were surprised to see how fast they obeyed without the need for questions or explanations. _How did they know what he was going to do anyway? _Laurel thought. Lance was only slightly less surprised but he recognised something familiar about the way they were working together, they were clearly a team somehow.

Thea was too panicky to register much of anything – Sara and Ollie's reaction to that click sound had her freaked out - which is why Oliver had told Felicity to speak to her. Oliver knew that Felicity was the one who would be able to get his sister to calm down enough for him to do what was needed if he was going to save her life. Somehow she had that calming effect on people.

"Hey Thea, it's going to be okay, trust us." Felicity said in a calm tone trying to reassure the confused young woman.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on, why can't I move?" Thea replied in a tone of panic, the way the others were behaving and the looks in their eyes were scaring her.

Felicity looked at Sara for help, how was she supposed to tell Thea just what had happened? Sara looked as unsure as she felt though. _Great, she chooses _now _t__o lose her confidence! _Felicity took a deep breath before answering Thea.

"You've stepped on a landmine Thea, but it's going to be okay Oliver is going to fix it, don't worry." Felicity had tried for a reassuring tone but it was evident it she still needed to work on that one.

"A landmine!" Thea shrieked loudly. "How on earth is this going to be okay?! I'm gonna die aren't I, I'm going to die!"

"Thea, Thea, look at me, it _is _going to be okay Thea alright, Oliver knows what he's doing and he's not going to let anything bad happen to you." _Bit late, _Felicity's mind added absently, her mind going back to how she'd felt when the same thing had happened to her. _At least I knew who Oliver truly was when I stepped on that mine - just how many mines are still on this Island anyway?_

"Thea, trust me, I _have _done this before okay Speedy – and it was Felicity who trod on a mine last time and she's fine aren't you Felicity?!" Oliver knew that dropping the nugget about Felicity treading on a mine - meaning that she must have been on Lian Yu before too - would peak Thea's curiosity, he just hoped it would be enough to take the edge off her panic.

"Yup, just peachy." Felicity responded.

Oliver was now in position high above them in a tree, having already identified a strong enough vine by that point, but he needed Thea to be calm enough for him to act before he could do what Felicity kept referring to as his 'Tarzan act'. The minute he'd revealed about Felicity being on the Island Thea had started to calm down slightly, as he'd expected, and she was now staring at Felicity.

"Ready?" He asked his Team.

"We're all good here man." Diggle answered and Sara nodded in agreement.

They'd moved the rest of the group far enough away to be a good distance clear of the explosion going on the previous mines. The others had objected initially but Lance had taken one look at Sara's and Diggle's faces before joining in the effort to keep Moira, Walter, and Laurel back. He hadn't understand what was going on to start with, but trusted the others enough to know that whatever they were doing it was for good reason.

The minute Oliver had said "landmine" though Lance had been highly relieved he _had_ trusted them! Moira was still fighting them, but Diggle was physically holding her back and was refusing to budge. _Good thing he is built like a brick house. _Lance thought, he knew from personal experience how difficult it could be to keep a mother from her child when that child was in danger.

"Felicity, Thea?" Oliver needed to be certain, he knew they would only get one chance at this.

"Thea, you need to put your arms up and keep still okay. Oliver is going to grab you and swing you out of the way of the danger. You need to hold on and just let him do it. Alright?" Felicity spoke quietly keeping her eyes fixed on Thea's as she spoke.

Thea stayed quiet for a moment shaking slightly before swallowing and giving a slight nod, then a stronger one. _If Oliver can do this then so can I. He survived alone in this place for five years right, so he knows what he's doing. _Thea knew she had no choice in the matter, she _had _to trust her brother. She took a few deep steadying breaths, copying the way she'd seen Oliver do it since his return from the island, _from this place!_

"I'm ready Oliver." She replied in as steady a voice as she could manage.

Felicity walked quickly to the rest of the group, not daring to run as much as she really wanted to as she knew that would only scare Thea even more. Sara and Diggle both gave her looks of respect and she was grateful for that. Right now she needed the reassurance as much as the rest of them did. Even though she trusted Oliver with her life, had trusted him with her life more times than she cared to count, she knew that their Team didn't exactly have a good track record when it came to Plan A working.

"Okay, Thea, stay still and just let me take you, everybody else _stay back_." Oliver growled the order before jumping out of the tree and grabbing hold of the vine he'd already selected.

Oliver swung through the air before grabbing Thea around the waist and swinging her out of the blast radius. He made sure to land on top of her as they were thrown to the ground by the explosion, knowing even before they landed that it was a bigger yield than the previous ones he'd dealt with. Oliver grunted softly in pain as he felt shards of shrapnel hit his back. That wasn't important right now, all that mattered was Thea!

Oliver shook his head as he got up, knowing even as he did it that it wouldn't help to clear the ringing and mild disorientation a blast always caused. He noted as he recovered his balance that Sara was the only one to be back on her feet as fast as him, although she was quickly followed by Diggle. The rest were slower to respond he registered abstractly.

"Thea? You okay?" Oliver finally let the concern show in his voice now that the immediate danger had passed. He had been more worried than he'd been willing to let on and Thea wasn't part of the Team, she wasn't used to following orders. There were too many things that could have gone wrong, _had gone wrong _his brain supplied in response to the pain in his back.

"I'm fine Ollie, a little squashed but okay. Thank you, you saved my life!" Thea's thanks was heartfelt. She couldn't quite believe what had just happened. Her mother and Walter quickly squashed her in their arms and she could hear her mom muttering something about "love" and "you're okay" but she wasn't really listening. Thoughts were running through her head at a thousand miles an hour, however before she had a chance to focus on even one of them she realized that Sara was speaking.

"Oliver, you're hurt." Sara noted calmly.

* * *

**AN2: You know the deal, I love to hear what you think & any observations or opinions you have so please review & let me know, thank you!**


	3. Stitches

**Chapter 3 – Stitches**

**AN: Thank you so very much to all of you who have already shown your wonderful support with follows, favs, and reviews – including you lovely guests who I haven't been able to thank personally! Rennie you are a true star for your amazing turnaround on all this stuff I inundated you with – thanks loads! All mistakes are still mine.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, the CW does.**

* * *

_"Oliver, you're hurt." Sara noted calmly._

_**Third Party POV**_

"What?!" Thea responded in a panic, her brother and everyone else had been so focused on asking if she was okay and just relieved she was alive herself that she had never stopped to consider if _he _was okay too.

"I know Sara. It's okay Thea it's nothing." Oliver tried to calm his sister down but she wasn't listening to him.

"Relax Thea, it's not that bad, he's just got a few little shards of shrapnel that need removing okay." Sara said, she knew Oliver would agree with her assessment of his injuries – by their standards, they _weren't _that bad. "You're going to need a few stitches though Oliver."

"Doubt the web threads are still usable somehow Sara." Oliver said with a smile.

"Here, I have a sewing kit." Felicity scrabbled in her bag to retrieve the little mending kit. "What, I have a loose button I was going to mend at lunch." She finished defensively as she noted the looks the others were giving her.

"I know that Oliver's said it before, but you really are remarkable Felicity." Sara said, as Felicity belatedly realized that the looks they were giving her were actually looks of being impressed and she smiled in response.

"Thanks Felicity that's great." Oliver said as he took the kit from her and passed it to Sara.

Oliver was about to take off his shirt when he suddenly stopped realizing that Lance, his mom, and Walter hadn't seen his scars at all, Laurel had only seen a few in decent light, and Thea had only seen a few too. Laurel's and Thea's reactions hadn't exactly been something he was looking to repeat either.

"Ollie, this is Lian Yu, they're going to find out soon enough." Sara commented, understanding straight away why Oliver was hesitating. It wasn't as if she was keen to show her scars to them either.

"Sara's right Oliver, it's not as if you can leave the shrapnel in there." Diggle added. He knew how hard this was for his friend. Whilst Oliver had no problems with the Team seeing his scars, in fact he almost flaunted them sometimes, he knew that Oliver had always been worried about how others would see him if they knew. Diggle also knew that Laurel had borne out that worry when Oliver had shown some of them to her**.**

Oliver nodded once in agreement before schooling his face to neutrality. Much to his surprise he could see understanding in his mom's face. But then he supposed she knew what it was like to be forced into revealing something you didn't want anyone else to know. Oliver removed his shirt watching their faces carefully. He couldn't help wincing slightly as Sara had to help him ease it off some of the shrapnel the shirt had got caught on.

"Son, what happened to you? Walter said completely shocked as the scars were revealed, but the compassion in his face was unexpected to Oliver.

At the same time as Walter spoke the others responded with various gasps of shock and horror, comments, and questions of their own, all wanting to know just what had happened to him?!

"This Island is a dangerous place." Olive said simply. He would tell them more later, he knew he would have to now, but it could wait until they weren't out in the open.

Thea wasn't content to leave it there though and came out with the most astute comment. "Whoa, there weren't that many scars before. "_Trust her to notice that! _Oliver thought.

"He'll explain later Thea." Felicity answered for Oliver, much to his relief – not that he knew what he was actually going to say to her when the time came to explain, but one problem at a time Oliver figured.

Oliver nodded his thanks to Felicity before turning around so that Sara would have the best light on his back to remove the shrapnel, allowing the others to see it – and his back – for the first time. Again there were sounds of horror but Oliver ignored them for now.

"Oh my goodness Oliver, there are big pieces of metal sticking out of your back! How can you say that's nothing?! Sara you said they were just _few little shards of shrapnel'! _Not great bit chunks of metal!" Thea was now close to hysteria, the events of the last ten minutes proving too much for her on top of being captured and marooned on the Island by Slade. She tried to take more deep breaths to calm herself and then realized what Sara was getting ready to do.

"You're not going to do that _here _are you?! He needs a hospital!" Thea was struggling to hold herself together and was truly scared at the thought of what Sara was about to do to her brother. It was one thing to hear them talking about stitches, but completely another to see all that metal sticking out of her brother and Sara about to remove them without even an anaesthetic or anything.

"Speedy, look around you – we're a long way from a hospital." Oliver, having turned back to answer his sister, saw the look on her face and realized that he'd spoken more sharply than he'd meant to. "It's okay, I've done this before – we both have." He finished more gently with a look at Sara to show he was referring to her.

"At least take some Tylenol" Laurel said reaching into her bag with her own look of horror on her face at what they were about to do. She couldn't believe Oliver and Sara were even considering this! _Why weren't Diggle or Felicity protesting either, I thought they were meant to be his friends or something!_

"He doesn't use that stuff." Felicity blurted out before remembering she wasn't meant to know just _what _Oliver would or wouldn't do or use when injured – at least not in front of the non-Team Arrow members. She stopped too late though, and both Laurel and Moira looked sharply at her, suspicious of just _how _she would know that about Oliver.

"Sara, when you're ready." Oliver turned his back to them again knowing that what they were all about to see would shock them and raise yet more questions, but at least it would deflect the attention from Felicity for now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**Thea's POV**

Thea still couldn't believe that Sara had just done _that _and Oliver hadn't even reacted apart from a slight moan when one piece of shrapnel had proved hard to remove. _How could they both be so completely blasé about the whole thing? She felt completely sick and she had only had to watch! _Thea noticed that neither Felicity nor Diggle had reacted to it either though, apart from Felicity wincing along with Oliver, it was like they had just expected him to carry on regardless as if nothing had even happened to him.

Diggle she supposed she could understand, he was military – Special Forces or something – so he had probably seen his fair share of wounds and field medicine. _Though that still doesn't explain why he would expect Oliver to react in that way. _Felicity though she couldn't understand at all! She worked in IT for goodness sakes, before becoming her brother's EA! _How on earth was she so used to this whole bizarre thing? And the way she'd got out that sewing kit as soon as stitches had been mentioned._

Felicity had known it would be required and hadn't even hesitated to offer a mending kit for medical stitches. Also, she had known that Oliver wouldn't take the Tylenol Laurel had offered, no matter how persistent Laurel had been, both before and after Sara had done it. There was way more going on here than Thea was aware of she realized. _As if things weren't weird enough in the first place!_

**Oliver's POV**

Oliver turned back to them all once Sara had finished, replacing his now torn shirt. He realized that Thea wasn't the only one looking green and knew that he would have to explain at least a little more. Much as he didn't want to scare them they needed to know, to understand, just how dangerous the Island could be. Laurel started to offer him the Tylenol again and as much as he didn't want them to focus on how Felicity knew he wouldn't use painkillers, it annoyed him to see Laurel completely disregarding Felicity's earlier comments.

"Look, the Island is dangerous, you've seen a hint of that already. You've seen my scars. In five years there were a lot of injuries and there was no choice but to deal with most of them myself. There is no hospital, no doctor, no pharmacy here, there's just you. I've had more experience of this than I ever wanted you to know about and I don't want to scare you any further but you need to understand just _how _dangerous the Island can be.

"But I've got Tylenol Ollie, there's no need for you to be in pain now!" Laurel insisted.

"Yes there is Laurel, those things dull your senses, slow your reactions. You've already seen how important sharp reactions are, if Sara hadn't stopped Thea from moving as fast as she did then Thea would be dead right now." Oliver hadn't intended to be so blunt, but Laurel just didn't seem to get it!

"Besides, this isn't pain Laurel, trust me." He'd meant to say that more gently, but it had come out darker than he intended. Oliver looked to Diggle and was relieved to see him nodding, it looked like he agreed bluntness was required here.

"Okay, time to get going again." Sara broke the tension much to Oliver's relief.

"Where is it we're going anyway?" His mom asked. "You said something about a … fuselage?"

"Yeah, it's where I stayed part of the time I was here. There's cover and a little shelter there. Sara's right, we need to get going, we're too vulnerable out here." Oliver answered realizing they hadn't actually explained where they were going or why.

"Vulnerable to what?" Lance queried and Oliver was pleased to see that someone other than his Team was focussed on the important things.

"To Slade Dad." Sara said, looking at Oliver with a semi-veiled look of worry that he suspected mirrored his own.

**AN2: OK I know I've said it already but Thank You for the fabulous reviews, I've been overwhelmed by them you have made my day & that's why I'm trying to update so fast as a thank you to you all :-D**


	4. Target Practice

**Chapter 4 – Target Practice**

**AN: I am so very grateful to you for all the follows, favs, & reviews - thank you so very much, including to the Guests I couldn't reply to to thank personally. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, CW does.**

* * *

_"Vulnerable to what?" Lance queried and Oliver was pleased to see that someone other than his Team was focussed on the important things._

_"To Slade dad." Sara said, looking at Oliver with a semi-veiled look of worry that he suspected mirrored his own._

**_Oliver's POV_**

When they got to the fuselage Oliver found there was a long black case that hadn't been there last time he was on the Island. There was a note on the case with his name on it in Slade's writing.

_'Oliver, You managed to cover your tracks before and convince them I was lying. But let's see how well you do once they see you shoot kid.'_

Oliver could picture the smirk that would have been on Slade's face as he'd written that. He passed the note to Felicity who shared it with Diggle and Sara as he looked at the case. As soon as he read the note Oliver instantly knew without looking that the case contained a bow. But he opened it anyway to find not just any bow but the original Island bow, Shado's bow, along with the Hood which had now been removed from Oliver's jacket. Oliver had no idea _how _Slade had got hold of them as that bow had gone missing when he'd tried to rescue Tommy at the Undertaking, but nothing surprised him anymore when it came to the man he had once called brother.

Oliver shared a look of sadness with his Team. Sara might have been the only one who was actually there on the Island with him, but Felicity and Diggle knew him well enough to understand the significance of that bow and he knew they recognised it too even though they had only seen it that once.

"Well at least food won't be an issue now." Sara commented, trying to lighten the mood.

Oliver picked up the bow, getting the feel of it again and it was instantly so natural in his hand, like it was a part of him. For the first time since waking up in that cell, hell,even before that - since seeing Slade in the Mansion, Oliver felt at peace. With the bow he was in control, everything made sense. He picked up the quiver full of arrows that Slade had also placed in the case and strapped it on, choosing to leave the Hood there, for now, and walked back over the rest of them who were just barely inside the fuselage.

"You're not seriously going to _use _that?!" His mom said indignant and astounded. "You don't even know how to fire a bow – do you?" She finished less certainly as Diggle and Felicity had started laughing and even Sara was doing a poor job of smothering her own laughter. Mind you he wasn't doing much better either Oliver realised as a grin had appeared on his face too. _How am I supposed to answer _that _question?!_

"Just show them man, they'll find out soon enough anyway." Diggle advised, still laughing but more quietly.

Oliver nodded knowing that Diggle was right. He wasn't happy about it, this was not the way he'd wanted them to find out. But then nothing about this had happened the way he'd wanted to. Truth be told he hadn't really wanted them to find out at all. But at least here, on this Island with his bow, he was in control – and he had a better chance of protecting them with it.

"Sara, target?" Oliver said briefly, knowing that no other reply or comment was needed to his Team. He already knew he had their support and agreement and that meant more than he could say. Diggle and Felicity were his true family, the ones he had chosen for himself.

"Sure." Sara grabbed Slade's note without hesitation and showed the back of the yellow piece of paper to the others, letting them see how small it was but not what was written on it. Their faces were a mixture of puzzlement and confusion, with dawning realisation showing on Lance's. Oliver didn't bother to say anything more, they would all see soon enough.

**_Third Party POV_**

Sara ran off a fair distance from the fuselage jumping down into ditches and back up the other sides, still holding back most of her own skills for until after Oliver had revealed his. She scaled a tree as easily as Oliver had earlier though ignoring the murmurs of surprise coming from the uninitiated of the group. The time for secrets was over, Slade had seen to that and she was too pragmatic to waste time worrying about it now.

Sara finally stopped high up the tree and wedged the piece of paper firmly enough that it would not move until Oliver's arrow hit it. She knew that Oliver would probably be the only one able to even be able to see it now, the others' didn't have senses as highly attuned at she and Oliver did. Despite that, Sara knew that Oliver would still be able to hit it easily enough. She intended to make it what would seem like an impossible shot to those who didn't know what Oliver was capable of.

"How is he supposed to hit that, you can't even _see_ it!" Thea objected loudly once Sara got closer to the others. "Besides, he's injured!" _Not that you'd know it from the way he had carried on completely regardless of his injuries the minute Sara finished sewing him up! _Thea noted to herself with bemused annoyance.

Once Sara had made it all the way back to the others (who had followed her back out of the fuselage) she moved them to one side so that they would be out of Oliver's way, but so as not to give him any clues as to the location of the target, before calling to him.

**_Oliver's POV_**

"Okay Oliver, it's done."

Oliver came back out of the fuselage when he heard Sara's words. He had stayed inside while she went to place the target so as not to see where she went. He figured that if he was going to have to show them what he was capable of then he might as well do it properly. Oliver stood in the gap that Sara had cleared for him and smiled as he noted she'd been careful to get them to stand in such a way as to not give him any hints.

Oliver glanced around for barely a second before spotting the piece of yellow paper, he drew an arrow, nocked it, and fired hitting the scrap and knocking it free of the tree before the others had barely even registered he had moved for an arrow. Oliver couldn't help but smile, man it felt so natural in many ways to be back here doing target practice with Shado's bow, their bow, without anyone chasing after them for once. This was the peace he'd sought after the Undertaking had killed Tommy. Oliver knew Slade too well to expect it to last, but just for these few seconds he was going to enjoy it.

Oliver smiled at the looks on the faces around him. Thea, his Mom, Walter, and Laurel were a mixture of amazement and astonishment; whilst Lance was nodding as if everything had just fallen into place. Sara, Diggle, and Felicity were all grinning with him and he knew they were enjoying sharing in his pleasure at showing off finally some of what he was capable of. Oliver knew that the questions would follow and that many of them would be things he didn't ever want to talk about, ever, but for now it was fun being able to stun the others like that.

Oliver realized that there was no point hiding the rest of his abilities anymore so, with a nod to Diggle and Felicity, he ran off at full speed no longer holding back to to grab the scrap of paper pierced by his arrow. Using his parkour skills to slide across fallen logs and leap over the large ditches without even hesitating, or truly needing to look as he remembered all too well the lay of the land, he was there and back in less time than it had taken Sara to place the target.

Oliver showed the scrap of paper to the rest of the group so they could clearly see the arrow that had pierced it dead centre. He reveled in the amazed and impressed looks on their faces, as well as in the simple enjoyment of using his body to its full potential instead of always restraining himself around the others as he had these past two years.

After a few seconds of stunned silence there was a rush of noise as they all started asking questions at once – mostly along the lines of where the hell did he learn to shoot, to do that?! One comment however stood out above the rest.

"So you really are the Arrow then." Lance stated making it was clear it wasn't a question.

* * *

**AN2: Please continue to make me happy with follows, favs, and reviews :-D I will continue to write as long as you want me to!**


	5. Defenses

**Chapter 5 – ****Defenses**

**AN: Wow, you guys continue to stun with your support & reviews thank you! KenyanCougar did you realise what a fantastic plot suggestion you had made because people seem to have gone mad over it - thank you for entrusting it to me!**

AN2: Rennie75 you are still the best beta ever, diolch yn fawr cariad bach! Great big giant thanks for the wonderful surprise of 'Steam'! xxx

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, CW does, big sigh! Oh, and Rennie if I can't own it then you can't either ok****- unless you'll share :-P**

* * *

_"So you really are the Arrow then." Lance stated making it was clear it wasn't a question."_

_**Oliver's POV**_

"Yes Detective Lance, I am." Oliver answered simply, expecting the onslaught he knew would follow his statement.

Oliver wasn't surprised it was Lance who figured it out first. After all he had been the one to arrest Oliver for being the Vigilante to start with and despite building a good relationship with the man Oliver knew Lance had always remained suspicious about a few things. Lance was a good Detective and with everything that had happened since Sara's return to Starling City it had been evident he was going to work it out sooner or later anyway. In fact in some ways he was surprised that Lance hadn't figured it out as soon as he'd seen Sara together with the Arrow.

Unfortunately the others clearly had _not_ worked it out and he was barraged with questions and exclamations from Laurel, his Mom, and Thea. Walter stayed quiet much to his surprise, nodding as though working something through.

"So it was you who rescued me then." Walter said quietly.

Whatever Oliver might have been expecting his step-father to say, that was not it. In fact that was the last thing he'd expected. Walter had never given him any sign of recognition either during or after the rescue.

"You knew?!" Oliver asked disbelievingly.

"Knew is too strong a word, but something about you seemed familiar that night. I thought it was just that I was so desperate to see my family again that I was imagining it however, especially as you gave no signs of knowing me."

"I couldn't, knowing who I am, knowing my identity, it puts people at risk." Oliver explained briefly before continuing. "It wasn't just me, in fact if it hadn't been for Felicity we would never even have known where you were."

"Then I owe you both my thanks, my life." Walter said with heartfelt gratitude, wanting to say more but not sure what or how.

Oliver nodded his acceptance and acknowledgement before addressing the others.

"We need to get moving, we can't stay here now."

"But we only just got here Oliver, we need to rest." His Mom objected. "You said this was where we needed to go!"

"I know Mom, but Slade has been here, he's probably been everywhere else too and that means we need somewhere that we can defend more easily." Oliver said making it clear this was not the time for arguments.

"Hang on a minute Ollie." Laurel started angrily grabbing at Oliver's arm as she spoke. "We are exhausted, we need to rest, in the last few days we've been captured by a madman, again, been threatened with watching you being tortured, been dumped on this island, seen Thea trapped on a landmine, watched Sara perform surgery on your back, and been marched all the way up here only to find out you're the Arrow?!" Laurel's voice had started out pissed but had risen in tone and pitch and was now bordering on angry hysteria. "Enough is enough, we need to know what the hell is going on, what is it that _you_ have got us caught up in here?!"

"Laurel, I appreciate you've been through a lot okay, trust me I understand, but this place is simply _not safe_ until we know more about where Slade's been and what he's done. We _need _to get you all somewhere safer, more defensible. Once we've done that then I will answer some of your questions." Oliver responded, shaking off her hand and trying to keep his annoyance with her at bay. _At least you're not starving and alone, you haven't been shot with an arrow, and you have others with you and people who are capable of looking after you – if you'll let them._

"Not good enough Ollie, we need to know what's going on – now!"

"Laurel!" Lance rebuked her at the same time as Sara and Thea did.

_**Third party POV**_

"Ollie's right Laurel, this is not the time or the place! We _have _to get to a better position, can't you see that?! Your questions are going to have to wait." Sara turned away from her sister, angry with her reactions and insistence. Sara refused to give her any more time and spoke to Oliver instead. "Where?"

"Yao Fei's cave. Do you remember the way?" Oliver asked.

"Why are you asking Sara that Ollie? Aren't you coming with us?" Thea asked trying to stay calm but worried and scared at the idea of not being with her brother.

"It'll be faster if Sara takes you and I'll meet you there." Oliver answered, appreciating his sister's efforts to stay calm when he could see from her elevated pulse that she was feeling anything but.

"No! You're not leaving us, you can't. This whole mess has happened because of _you_, _you're_ the reason we're stuck here because of whatever it is _you've_ got going on with this Slade guy – which you haven't even bothered to tell us about – and now you're going off somewhere and abandoning us! You've spent two years, _two years Ollie,_ lying to us and yet now you just expect us to trust you and believe you?!" Laurel was furious, she couldn't believe Oliver was doing this to them.

"That's enough Laurel!" Lance said sharply, highly embarrassed and annoyed by the way his older daughter was behaving.

"Oliver is not abandoning us Laurel and he never would!" Felicity spoke in her angry voice much to Diggle's delight.

"If he says he's going to meet us there then that is what he will do and you have no right to expect answers to questions you know _nothing _about, Oliver has been through more than you could possibly imagine, has put his life on the line more times than you can count to protect _you _so don't you dare say otherwise and even after you tried to trap him and have him arrested he still continued to come for you and rescued _you_ from the Dollmaker and a dozen other times as well regardless of how many times he's been hurt saving you and yet _you_ continue to attack him at every turn, and it is **not **his fault that we are here Slade is a twisted psychopath and that is **not **Oliver's doing so don't you _**dare** _say otherwise! If he says we need to go somewhere then that's what we are going to do and we are going to do it now" Felicity finished angrily turning her back on Laurel purposefully and facing Sara instead. "Which way Sara?"

Thea was truly impressed at how Felicity had defended her brother. She had thought the IT girl was quiet and had never understood why Oliver and Diggle seemed to defer to her and be loathe to cross her – but now she could see why. _Felicity can be Scary!_ Thea glanced at her brother and Diggle to see them both attempting to hide smiles at Felicity's words and reaction, and doing a poor job of it.

"Before you go you need to take some supplies, there should be some water bottles in the fuselage." Oliver decided to ignore Laurel's words for now and move on to the job in hand, they had wasted too much time already and he wanted Sara to be able to get them to the cave before they lost the last of the daylight.

Sara, Diggle, Walter, and Lance followed Oliver, leaving the other women outside shooting daggers at each other. _If looks could kill, _thought Diggle wryly, _why is it people will never learn the lesson that attacking Oliver in front of Felicity is a _bad _idea?!_

Lance took the bottles of water that Oliver was taking out of the bottom of a crate, as he passed them out he noticed the date on one of them and saw it was still in date. _So not from seven years ago then. _That together with Oliver's comment about getting Felicity off a landmine had him intrigued. _So that means Oliver has been back here since being rescued? _Lance knew he would have to ask Oliver about that, but now was definitely not the time.

"That's all there is, but it will be enough until I get things sorted." Oliver said as he passed out the last of about a dozen bottles of water. He also passed out a couple of kit bags saying briefly "Blankets and flints."

Sara turned to go before Oliver stopped her. "Hang on, I just need to check something." With that he jumped up onto the old pull-ups bar before using it to flip out over and on to the roof of the fuselage in one fast move that was clearly very easy for him. Walter looked at Lance with amazement in his eyes and Lance met his glance nodding to show he shared the Brit's wonder at what it now appeared Oliver was capable of doing.

Diggle having caught their look grinned before commenting "I already told him he should enter the next Olympics." Sara just barked out a brief laugh of her own at that and Diggle was glad he had been able to relieve the tension between at least this part of the group somewhat.

Before anyone could say anything else Oliver silently dropped back down in front of them on the other side of the fuselage with three combat knives. "I created this cache after Slade left the Island, looks like he either missed it or left this one in place."

Oliver threw one fast straight at Sara who picked it out of the air without any hesitation much to Walter's surprise, before passing the second to Diggle and keeping the last for himself. Lance saw Walter's querying look and answered his unspoken question letting the pride show in his voice "Yeah she's just as good as Oliver."

"Better..." Oliver contradicted "...apart from with the bow."

"So you don't shoot too then?" Walter asked, still surprised at idea of the petite woman being a better fighter than Oliver, the Arrow.

"Oh she does, it's just no-one's as good as Oliver when it comes to the bow" Diggle replied.

Sara just grinned at that staying silent.

"Almost no-one." Oliver corrected, appreciating the praise but needing Lance and Walter to know he wasn't unbeatable.

"So what's the plan?" Sara said, recognizing it was time to get a move on, they'd allowed the rest of the group as much of a break as they could currently afford.

"You head straight to Yao Fei's cave, I'll check the Mirakuru cave and a couple of other caches that are on the way and meet you at Yao Fei's once I've caught dinner and set some traps. Get a fire going." Oliver knew there was no need to say about rationing the water, Sara was just as aware of that as he was and Diggle would be too with his training.

Oliver wasn't overly keen on the idea of splitting up, however he knew it was the fastest way and as only Sara and Diggle had any real training he couldn't afford to leave the group without them both as protection.

"We'll check Fyres' camp tomorrow, there won't be enough light tonight and I want you with me for that Digg." Oliver said.

Diggle nodded his agreement, recognizing it for the compliment it was. He knew that Oliver trusted him completely to have his back in Starling City, but this Island was another matter and league. It was good to see Oliver still trusting people, he hadn't been sure how all of this would affect the younger man's ability to trust and rely on others. He knew the strain on Oliver was immense and he was determined to do all he could to help relieve that burden.

"Oliver." Diggle spoke his name quietly as Oliver was about to leave. He held out the Hood to Oliver knowing how much it meant to him to wear it. "Take it man." Oliver hesitated briefly.

"Honor her Oliver." Sara said simply.

* * *

**AN3: Sooo, who likes angry Felicity then? You all know the deal, reviews feed the Muse and you truly do make me grin like mad with every single follow, fav, and review :-D **


	6. Roy

**Chapter 6 – Roy**

**AN: Thank you all so much for your amazing responses to the last chapter, you have really stunned me. I have tried to say thank you to every reviewer, but for the Guests & those with PMs disabled consider this your extra thank you! Rennie as ever my thanks go to you hun, you are such a brilliant support!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, CW does.**

* * *

_"Oliver." Diggle spoke his name quietly as Oliver was about to leave. He held out the Hood to Oliver knowing how much it meant to him to wear it. "Take it man." Oliver hesitated briefly._

_"Honor her Oliver." Sara said simply._

_**Third Party POV**_

Oliver took the Hood with a look of gratitude to them both that had Lance and Walter puzzled. Who was the 'her' Oliver was meant to be honoring? Regardless, it was plain that this hood was far more than just a disguise to Oliver – or to Diggle or Sara for that matter.

Oliver was quick to remove the quiver and put on the Hood before refastening the quiver. He left the Hood itself down for now needing, for some unknown reason, to see Felicity's face when he put it up. He picked up the bow and followed the others back to the rest of the group.

Diggle was amused to see the glaring match was still going on and that Thea had moved to stand closer to Felicity, but wisely decided to say nothing.

Felicity and Thea looked up first and Oliver saw the glimmer of a smile on Felicity's face at the sight of the Hood. Keeping his eyes fixed on her and ignoring the rest for now Oliver raised the Hood. Felicity nodded her approval, definitely smiling now. It felt good to be wearing it publicly even if most of them didn't have any idea what it represented – who it represented, yet. He would tell them, but when they were safer at Yao Fei's cave, not now.

The fuselage had been Slade's place even before Oliver had come to the Island and yet he had been drawn back to it. Oliver had known for some reason it was the first place he needed to go to and Slade had known that too. That was why Slade had chosen to leave the bow - _her bow - _here in the one place the three of them had been together, been as happy as it was possible to be on this Island after they had destroyed Fyres.

"You'll get to the cave before I do, not sure if I'll make it before the light goes but I'll be there as soon as I can. Sara knows the way, but be careful this Island has many dangers." Oliver said addressing the whole group.

"Be careful Oliver." Felicity said quietly as Oliver ran off, knowing full well that he could still hear her.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oliver checked out two further caches on the way to the Mirakuru cave and was disappointed but not surprised to find they were both empty – especially as they had been set up before Shado had been killed. Regardless, he knew it had still been worth checking them out.

When he made it to the cave where they had first found the Japanese soldiers who'd led them to the Mirakuru (the Mirakuru cave as they'd referred to it ever since) Oliver stopped warily. The bushes around the entrance had been disturbed – recently. He nocked an arrow before cautiously entering the cave, stopping dead in his tracks at what he saw – Roy!

He was chained, hanging from the roof of the cave and was covered in a multitude of almost healed bruises including the remnants of a split lip and underneath the blindfold there was also some bruising from a black eye. With his fast healing Oliver knew those injuries could be no more than a day old. Oliver realized they were a recreation of the injuries that the man he'd found in Yao Fei's cave had had, the man he had later discovered was a radio operator for Fyres and who had been left there as a trap. Oliver had finally told Slade about him after Yao Fei had been killed.

Oliver also recognized that the way Roy was chained was the same as the way Slade had chained Oliver on the Amazo after killing Ivo. Recognized that this was Slade's macabre twisted recreation of both scenes. He was taunting Oliver, making him relive memories that he had no wish to think of ever again. Oliver knew this would only be the beginning of whatever Slade had planned for them.

Roy was blindfolded so although he thought he'd heard someone entering the cave and coming near, he couldn't be sure.

"Hello, is someone there?" Roy asked keeping any hints of fear out of his voice Oliver noticed approvingly. Oliver realized from the way he spoke that Roy also had a smashed jawbone. He was wary of approaching or saying anything. He remembered Fyres' trap all too well and knew that this could easily be a trap too.

Oliver circled around Roy staying silent as he checked out the rest of the cave. Sure enough, in the place where the skeletons still lay (all apart from the one they had taken to the fuselage for Shado to examine) there was another yellow note from Slade with Oliver's name on it.

_'I told you that caring for people makes you weak. You wouldn't listen. Now you have to decide if you are weak still. The key for Mr __Harper's shackles is by this note. You have to decide whether to release him and risk that he's a trap like with Fyres – or whether to leave him here knowing that if you do you've killed your sister's girlfriend knowing that he might not have been a trap. Time to choose kid.'_

Again he could picture Slade's smirk. He swallowed a few times knowing that Slade was right. If it wasn't a trap then he would be killing Roy by leaving him here, even with the Mirakuru there was no way he could escape those chains and he would still need water to survive. Slade had been very careful to chain him in a way that Roy couldn't get any leverage on anything in order to break them either.

But, if it was a trap and he brought Roy back to the group then he could be killing them all – Felicity, Thea. In the end it was thoughts of Thea that decided him. Even in the midst of his worst Mirakuru fuelled rages Thea had always remained the one certain way to get through to Roy and she remained his anchor point. Roy loved her so much that he had been willing to break up with her, to fake cheating on her, just to keep her safe. Oliver _had _to believe that was still the case. He had to trust in Roy's love for Thea even if he couldn't trust anything else.

Decision made Oliver picked up the key and carefully approached Roy. He didn't speak until he'd been able to check around more thoroughly. Slade was a master of distraction after all and it was essential to be sure that he didn't trigger off any other traps or alarms by freeing Roy.

"Roy." Oliver finally spoke calmly before he was within striking distance of him – the last thing they needed was for Roy to be startled and hit out causing more injuries or broken bones. They simply didn't have the time to allow for injuries or for breaks to heal.

"Oliver?" The query was plain to hear in the younger man's voice, along with disbelief – and, despair?

"It's me Roy, stay still I'm going to get you down but is there anything I need to know about first? Did Slade leave any traps?" Just because Oliver couldn't' see any didn't mean they weren't there. Slade had been ASIS after all and so had been highly trained in all this even before the Island, before the Mirakuru. Oliver had known this place had been disturbed well before he entered the cave. Regardless of the two years that had passed (he'd stayed away from this place when he'd returned after Tommy's death) he had still been able to sense the differences instantly. The airflow had been disturbed, it flowed differently with Roy hanging there. The bushes outside had first alerted him sure, but there had been other signs too, even the scent of the cave had been wrong.

Much as he wished it hadn't been Roy hanging there, Oliver was relieved to know that his senses were just as highly attuned to the Island and it's places as ever. He had been there longer than anyone else, including Slade, and Oliver knew they would need that, would need every advantage they could get if they were all to survive this. If Roy was finally able to gain the control and focus he needed – assuming Oliver was right about him being on their side – then Roy could definitely be one of those advantages.

All of this ran through Oliver's mind in the time it took him (once Roy had said no to knowledge of any traps) to climb up the cave to Roy's position, remove his blindfold, and unlock the chains. Roy dropped to the floor, landing hard, as Oliver dropped down far more agilely and landed in a controlled crouch position.

"Thank you – I wasn't sure you would trust me still." Roy said awkwardly, trying but struggling to make and keep eye contact with Oliver.

"Do you still love Thea?" Oliver asked bluntly needing to see Roy's response, hear his voice, see his pulse, his muscle tension to be certain of Roy's answer.

"Yes! How can you ask that Oliver?! _You _know I only broke up with her because you told me I had to in order to keep her safe." Roy replied vehemently, his entire body showing the truth of his words.

"Good – because she's here and we're going to need your help to keep her safe."

"Thea's here?!" Roy's fury and distress were easy for anyone to hear in his voice. "How did she get here, how did you get here for that matter – and who's 'we'?"

Oliver was pleased and relieved to note that regardless of his obvious distress and fear for Thea Roy had still managed to focus on some of the other important and more urgent factors. He had even picked up that Oliver had used 'we' instead of 'I'. _Maybe here, with Thea with him, we'll finally be able to teach Roy the focus and control he needs._

"Slade." Oliver knew that for now at least that was all he had to say.

* * *

**AN2: Well for all of you asking about Roy this was for you :-) Hope you like it!**


	7. Shengcún

**Chapter 7 – Shengcún**

**AN: Firstly I want to again say a big thanks to you all for the support – you guys are brilliant, love you all! **

**Second, I've had a few comments asking for longer chapters & here's my answer:-  
I see each chapter as a separate part of the story (unless it's a cliffhanger) & at the end of the day each is the length I feel is needed. Also, if I wrote longer chapters then the updates would be a lot less frequent. I've decided to go with the advice from my stunning beta Rennie75 & simply write what I am happy with each time. I truly do want to make you all very happy & enjoy my writing as that is a Huge part of writing for me – but I have to write how I feel is best. I hope you understand? **

**Having said all that, I have made this chapter longer than I originally planned, as well as staying up late in order to write all of the next chapter as well so as to give you another fast update. I hope you will like it when I post it tomorrow :-) I take it as a huge compliment that you want more so thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, CW does. I only own my mistakes.**

* * *

_"Slade." Oliver knew that for now at least that was all he had to say._

**_Third Party POV_**

Roy followed Oliver out of the cave and they headed back to meet the others with Oliver updating Roy on the way on everything that had happened. Roy was less than impressed that Slade had brought Thea into it yet again and it was clear from his barely restrained anger that Roy was against anyone who might hurt Thea. She was his world and he would do anything for her. For now that meant working with Oliver and the rest of Team Arrow so that was what Roy was willing to do.

They detoured slightly on the way so that Oliver could kill a deer for them all to have for their meal. Feeding nine was going to take a lot more than it had when it had only been him on the Island, the most Oliver had ever been with at one time was four others he realized. Fyres' mercenaries didn't count as they hadn't been with him and had had food shipped in anyway.

Roy was surprised to see how involved it was to kill an animal, he had only seen Oliver going up against people of course and had just assumed it would be no more difficult – easier even as an animal wouldn't be attacking in return. Things like needing to stand downwind had never even occurred to Roy before, nor did he think about just how sensitive an animal's hearing could be. They had lost the first animal when Roy had inadvertently caught the edge of a leaf making the slightest of sounds – hell he hadn't even heard it himself, but the stag had and so had Oliver, somehow.

Once he'd killed the deer Oliver proceeded to use a vine to strap it to a branch and Roy then carried it back to the cave for Oliver. Roy figured the carrying was the least he could do, especially as he'd lost them the first animal after all. Plus Roy knew it was safer for them both if Oliver had his hands free to use the bow. Neither man trusted Slade not to have left other traps or dangers set up, or even a Mirakuru enhanced force to attack them.

If he was honest with himself Roy was still surprised that Oliver had released him. If he'd wanted to he could have just stayed quiet and Roy would never even have known that it had been Oliver – heck he hadn't been certain he'd heard anything/anyone in the first place. Roy knew that he owed Oliver his life, again. Nobody would have ever needed to know that Oliver had found him while he was still alive either Roy realized, everybody would have just blamed Slade without stopping to query it.

"Why?" Roy found himself asking without ever really meaning to.

Oliver looked at him, knowing exactly what it Roy was asking, but still wishing he hadn't.

"Thea." Oliver hoped that would be enough of an answer for now. He knew he was going to have a lot of questions to answer tonight as it was and really wasn't up for adding to that. Thankfully Roy seemed to understand and accept that and let the matter lie.

"Thank you." The words were simple but heartfelt and considering everything that had gone on Oliver was just grateful to have someone outside of his main Team who wasn't angry with him right now.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

They got to Yao Fei's cave to find that Sara had got the fire going as asked and such blankets as there were had been handed to Thea, Laurel, Felicity, and his Mom. Oliver was glad it was summer meaning that even though it would be cold at night it was still perfectly survivable without blankets, unlike winter. Oliver had already told Roy to leave the deer outside for now, best to let them know he was here first. Oliver walked into the cave with Roy right behind him. As they saw the others Roy stepped to one side allowing them to see him too.

"Roy!" Thea screamed in delight, relief, and surprise all at once.

Considering the force with which Thea launched herself at Roy it was a good thing he was enhanced by the Mirakuru. Again questions rained down on them, something that Oliver was fast getting sick of but knew wouldn't be ending anytime soon, unfortunately.

Roy looked at Oliver before answering briefly with the abridged version. "Slade captured me, I got knocked out. Next thing I knew I was chained in a cave, don't know quite how long I was there before Oliver found me. He saved my life."

_Talk about the cliff notes version!_ Diggle thought seeing straight away there was far more to it than that. _Especially considering the remnants of injuries Roy was sporting. _He knew better than to ask any further though, if Oliver thought it was something they _needed _to know then he would tell them.

_**Oliver's POV**_

Putting a stop to all the questions that were still coming Oliver just walked out of the cave to get the deer. He had previously slit its throat so that the others wouldn't have to deal with that, trying to make things as easy for them as possible.

"What the heck is that?" Laurel asked pointing at the deer.

"Dinner." Oliver answered succinctly.

"Oliver you can't really expect us to eat that, surely?!" His Mom said disdainfully.

Oliver was annoyed but not surprised by their response. He caught sight of Sara and Diggle both rolling their eyes and Felicity looked close to starting another glaring match with Laurel. Oliver avoided their faces as he knew that a grin wouldn't go down all that well now. He could have completely predicted this and had actually been expecting it. His Mom hadn't even been able to handle proper camping before so he knew this would be a rude awakening to her.

"Just be glad I didn't make you kill it." Oliver thought back to his own early days and how Yao Fei had taught him that his own survival was paramount. He saw the look on Felicity's face without meaning to and knew she was remembering when he'd told her about what Yao Fei had done. He remembered she had understood things better after that and had told him it was good to know there had been a process involved in him being able to kill. _Maybe it would help if the other knew that too? I'm going to have to answer some questions tonight anyway, at least if I choose how I start I'll have more chance of keeping it under control._

Oliver took out the combat knife and started preparing the deer for cooking as Sara set up the spit poles over the fire. As he worked he took a few deep breaths first to help prepare himself for revealing things he had never wanted them to know. As he did so Felicity moved to sit opposite him so that he could focus on her eyes, she knew how much he relied on her to anchor him and even here, in the midst of all this, she was still trying to make it easier for him as best she could. Diggle and Sara moved into flanking positions, one on either side, lending their own unspoken support too. He looked at each of them, his own thanks also unvoiced but just as well known, as he began to speak.

"When I first got to this Island I was on my own and dying of dehydration, I'd been floating in a life-raft for days as I told you in Court when they legally resurrected me. What I didn't say was what happened after that. I was on the beach when I was shot with an arrow by a Chinese man I later found out was called Yao Fei." Oliver ignored the reactions to that and continued speaking.

"The Island was not abandoned, it was being used by mercenaries who were hunting Yao Fei, he had thought I was one of the soldiers and so had shot me in self-defense. Yao Fei realized I wasn't one of them so brought me here and treated my wound. He gave me water, herbs that are the only medicine you'll find here, and kept me alive to start with." Oliver looked around as he spoke meeting his sister's eyes first before moving onto to his Mom's eyes.**  
**

"Yao Fei knew that to make it here you have to learn one thing above all else and you have to learn it fast. He brought in this little bird that was alive in a cage, put it down next to me, and pointed at it saying 'shengcún'. I figured that meant 'bird', it was all he would say. He would eat himself but never let me have any, stopped me if I tried to get at it. He just kept pointing at the damn bird and repeating 'shengcún'." Oliver looked to Walter as he continued.

"Finally after a few days he pointed at me and mimed wringing the bird's neck. I was starving and weak already from the arrow wound. If I didn't eat soon then I would die, but I still couldn't do it though. I remember what I said to him next and his replies." Oliver met Laurel's eyes before continuing knowing that she would find this hardest to accept, but needing her to know he hadn't found it easy to kill.

"I said 'Hey, please, I'm starving. I never killed anything before.' Yao Fei paid no attention though, as if I wasn't even speaking. I realized I had no choice, it was either my death or I killed the bird."

Oliver gave a mirthless laugh looking down before he continued speaking. "I actually said 'I'm sorry' to the bird before I wrung its neck, killing it."

Oliver paused for a few seconds before meeting Thea's eyes. "After that he cooked it and let me eat the bird, before sitting down opposite me. He said 'shengcún' again. I was fed up with that damn word by then, I'd done what he'd said, what more did he want? I was pissed off and let it show as I replied to Yao Fei saying 'Yeah, bird, I know!' I wasn't expecting his response though."

"Yao Fei said, 'Shengcún not mean bird. Shengcún mean survive.' I couldn't believe it, he spoke English?! Yao Fei ignored my comment and just continued as if I'd said nothing. 'You won't survive this place bird not last thing you kill. Shengcún, survive.' It was a tough lesson but over time I realized he was right. Shengcún, survive. If you want to survive this place then that is what you need to learn too. Survive." Oliver finished darkly looking finally to Felicity, needing her approval and was relieved to see her encouraging smile.

**_Third Party POV_**

"Just be glad Oliver's not making you learn it the same way." Sara said after a few minutes of shocked silence. She was reinforcing Oliver's words and hoping at the same time to distract them from the fact that she hadn't been on the Island with Oliver then too. Sara knew that it would be her turn to talk soon enough, that she would have to explain her part in the Mirakuru, in creating Slade in the first place, but hoped to delay that as long as possible.

Whilst Oliver talked Thea had been watching the faces of those around him. She realized that this story was not new to Felicity or Diggle, just as they had already known he was the Arrow. _Just how much has my brother told them – and why did he trust them but not me? _Thea had also noticed how Oliver had completely skipped over the part about being shot; it was as if his injuries, his own pain, didn't even matter to him.

"Thank you Oliver." Thea said without elaboration. She knew her brother would understand she was thanking him not only for the food and the lesson/explanation, but also for sharing something of his past with them all, despite the fact that he clearly found it hard to do so. Thea wondered about this Yao Fei, _who was he and why were these mercenaries after him? How much other stuff did he teach Oliver? Was he the one who taught Oliver to shoot with the bow? So much we don't know still, but at least he's talking now, he's trying._

* * *

**AN2: Hope you enjoyed your longer chapter, more coming tomorrow :-)**


	8. Arrows and Sleep

**Chapter 8 – Arrows & Sleep**

**AN: Ok so this was going to be uploaded hours ago - but the FF upload issue prevented it, sorry for the delay, still it's up now so I hope you enjoy this chapter. Rennie75 you're still my star cariad & keep me going, thank you! :-D**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I know, I still don't own it, sigh, no fair!**

* * *

_Thea wondered about this Yao Fei_, _who was he and why were these mercenaries after him? How much other stuff did he teach Oliver? Was he the one who taught Oliver to shoot with the bow? So much we don't know still, but at least he's talking now, he's trying._

_**Third Party POV**_

After Thea's thank you everyone had fallen silent, each lost in their own thoughts as the food was cooked. Oliver and Sara shared it around making sure that everyone received an equal portion. Some ate more reluctantly than others, in particular Moira was struggling, but at least she was trying after Oliver's words. Sara understood how hard it was to share those memories and events. They were of a lifetime they both had wanted to bury, but no matter how hard they tried it appeared the Island was not content to remain in the past – not if Slade had anything to do with it! Sara couldn't help but wonder how much else would need to be remembered, shared, before this was all over – and how many relationships would survive that sharing.

She knew that John and Felicity would stand by Oliver no matter what and she was grateful that he had that support, even as she wished for the same herself. Sin gave her that, she was her support, but Sin wasn't here – which Sara was intensely grateful for, she just hoped that meant the streetwise kid was safe. Sara hoped that Sin would figure out something was wrong from the way that they had all disappeared at once. She was just worried that Sin would think that Sara had broken her word, had abandoned her too.

As for the others, she knew that Laurel would freak out at a lot of what she was going to learn and Sara honestly didn't know if her sister would ever speak to her again once she knew that Sara wasn't just a killer like Oliver, she was an assassin, had been part of the League of Assassins. There was simply no way Slade would allow that information to remain secret. Sara knew her Dad had already accepted her past even though he'd had trouble doing so. In the end it was his jubilation at her being alive that had allowed him to deal with the news. How he'd feel when he found out about Ivo, the Mirakuru and her part in all that, or the fact that she had traded the life of another in an attempt to save Oliver – well,she just didn't know if that would finally be too much for him.

Diggle and Felicity hadn't been happy about that either even though they had tried to understand and Felicity in particular had tried not to judge – as always. _When was Oliver going to realize what he had in her and act on it?! _Giving Slade more ammunition with the relationship was a bad idea, but so was dying without letting the person you love know how you truly feel. _Those two are soul-mates, anyone who truly looked at them could see that. _Sara just hoped that their bond would be enough to get Oliver through this without losing himself again.

Thea was more relieved than she could say to have Roy here at her side and not trying to hide his love for her anymore. Much as she wished he hadn't been caught up in all this, having him there made her feel safer, more complete. She didn't understand why Slade had separated him in the first place or why Oliver had shut her down when she'd tried to argue for more answers. Normally Thea would have kept going regardless, but she had caught sight of Felicity's face and wisely decided not to go up against the blond.

Thea had instantly noticed that Roy acted differently around Oliver, Diggle, and Felicity, than he had until now. Apparently he had already known that Oliver was the Arrow, somehow. _No wonder Roy had stopped searching for the Arrow – he'd found him! _She was pissed that he had never told her, but she supposed she could understand it hadn't been his secret to tell and it was good to see his loyalty to her brother.

Roy's sudden change from thinking Oliver was a 'wuss' to being scared and intimidated by her brother suddenly made way more sense! _Who wouldn't be scared of the Arrow in overprotective big brother mode! _All this time Thea thought it had been because of seeing how Oliver had dealt with that arrow Roy had been shot with..."

"_**You shot my boyfriend!**_" Thea yelled furiously making everyone jump.

Oliver looked sheepish and guilty.

"Was wondering when she'd get to that." Diggle said in an aside to Felicity, earning himself a glare from Oliver that had no effect on him whatsoever. A_ngry Thea Queen, this should be fun!" _Diggle though, amused. _Oliver deserves this for thinking that shooting his sister's boyfriend was a good way to keep him safe, them safe._

"I was trying to protect him, to keep you both safe..." Oliver began.

_Doomed, he's doomed. _That argument hadn't worked at the time on them, or on Roy either Diggle remembered.

"By shooting him with an arrow in the knee?!" Thea yelled back not holding back at all.

"Yeah he's so doomed." Felicity said quietly answering Diggle's unspoken thoughts and earning herself a glare from Oliver – and a smirk from Sara.

"Thea it's okay." Roy spoke up much to Oliver's surprise, trying unsuccessfully to stop Thea's attack on Oliver.

"How is it okay Roy?! My _**brother **_shot you before pretending to be surprised and help as 'Oliver', hurting you further by removing that same arrow. In what twisted world is _that okay_?!" Thea was angrier than most of them had ever seen her.

"Because he _was _trying to protect us, protect you! I _had _ignored previous warnings from him both as Oliver and as the Arrow. Oliver knew how dangerous what we were looking into was and he was trying to protect his _sister_. Plus he had already saved my life by that point and has done so again several times since, including today. I figure that earns him some lee-way." Roy finished, stopping Thea in her tracks.

Diggle could see that Thea didn't completely agree, but she _had _stopped her attack on Oliver – an impressive feat. It appeared that although Roy might not be much of a talker normally, when he wanted to he was certainly capable of making a good argument.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

After that things had gone quiet again, everybody was exhausted emotionally and physically by the stresses of the day. The light had completely gone and Oliver realized it was time for them to settle down for the night.

"I'll take the first watch, Diggle take the second, then you Sara." Oliver instructed as he banked down the fire.

Oliver went and sat by the entrance putting the bow down no more than an inch from his hand. Until now they had unobtrusively made sure that at least two out of himself, Sara, Diggle, and Roy had eyes on the entrance at all times. For a nighttime watch however Oliver knew that Roy did not have the necessary skills or awareness. Diggle may not be familiar with the Island either, but he had been trained to keep watch and Oliver trusted him to have their backs.

Felicity went to lay down her blanket on the ground creating her own sleeping area; as Roy and Sara went to do the same with Thea's and Laurel's blankets respectively, much to their surprise. Moira just sat there looking bemused until Walter spoke.

"I think that's our cue to settle down for the night. Goodnight Oliver, and thank you again son." Walter spoke quietly as ever to Moira, even as he took her blanket and laid it out ready for her to sleep on the ground too.

"You can't be serious Oliver. You expect us to all sleep here, together?" Moira protested, indignant at the thought of them all sleeping in the same cave without any privacy.

"Your Mom's right Ollie, we can't all sleep here, surely?" Laurel spoke up in support of Moira.

Oliver was thrown by that. Sara and Shado had never objected to all of them sharing the same sleeping area so it hadn't occurred to him that anyone else would. Looking around though he could see that they weren't alone, Thea didn't look too comfortable with the idea either. Diggle and Felicity seemed to be fine with it, as did Roy. Sara obviously was as it wasn't the first time she had slept here. Lance and Walter didn't seem so keen but they were both trying to hide that Oliver noticed and he was grateful for the subtle support. Oliver looked to Diggle for support from the older man, not wanting to start another argument and knowing that Diggle was better at keeping the peace than he was.

Lance spoke up first however. "Laurel honey, where did you think we were going to sleep? There aren't exactly separate rooms around here and it'll be safer if we're all together." The last thing he wanted was for them to be out of his sight on this Island that had already stolen Sara from him for six years.

"He's right Moira, we have to think about this sensibly and right now it's more important to be safe. If it makes you feel better then why don't you ladies sleep on this side of the fire and we will take the other side, closer to the entrance?" Walter chipped in, playing the diplomat as ever trying to come to a compromise that would satisfy Moira and Laurel whilst keeping them all safe – and that meant being near to Oliver, Mr Diggle, and apparently Sara too.

"Fine." Laurel agreed, obviously less than enthusiastic but too tired to argue any further for now. "But why does Sara need to take a watch?"

Sara had hoped she would at least have until the morning to work out how to tell them her secret too, but apparently not. She opened her mouth to answer only for Oliver to speak first.

"Because Sara knows what she's doing, she knows this Island too remember." Oliver spoke softly but with the ring of authority in his voice still. "Try and get some rest, this Island doesn't tend to give you many chances to rest so it's important to take them while you can. We'll keep you safe while you sleep." As he said the last he looked at Thea and then Felicity.

Oliver sat back down just inside the entrance at the point where he had a good view of the outside surrounding area, but he couldn't be seen himself. Yao Fei had chosen well when he had picked this cave for his own. It didn't take long to hear the various sounds of sleep coming from the majority of the group. Diggle came and sat down beside him as Oliver had known he would.

"So how much sleep are you planning on getting then man?" Diggle asked quietly, knowing at least part of what the younger man would be thinking, worrying about.

"You know as well as I do what's going to happen if I sleep here Digg. What happens when one of them tries to wake me from the nightmares? We both know that being back here like this is only going to make then hit harder." Oliver finished with a sigh, speaking just as quietly.

"Oliver I know you're worried about that, but we need you alert and even you need some sleep too. Besides, think about it. Sara, Felicity, and Roy all know better than to go near when you're having a nightmare. Walter and your Mom do too going on what you told us about your first night back in the Mansion – and I'm guessing that means Thea will know about it as well, your Mom would have warned her. Lance will have dealt with PTSD and flashbacks before with SCPD so he should be aware of the risks. You've slept with Laurel too since you first came back, did you tell her then?

"No, but I should have, not telling her put her at risk that night. Thankfully I woke up that time without waking her first. I can't take the risk of that happening again though."

"Okay, so Sara and I will sleep nearest to you. If anyone asks we'll say it's a security thing, to be able to back-up whoever is on watch. You know we'll wake before anyone else."Diggle said in an effort to reassure Oliver. "But you gotta realize they are going to all find out sooner or later, if not tonight then soon." Diggle warned.

Oliver just nodded, knowing Diggle was right, he would have to tell them, warn them never to touch him in his sleep. _Tomorrow though. _For now he would take watch, and trust Digg and Sara to have his back when he too tried to sleep.

* * *

**AN2: Hope you liked it :-)**


	9. Nightmare

**Chapter 9 – Nightmare**

**AN: Happy Easter everyone! Rennie75 thanks so much for yet another super fast turnaround on these!**

**Disclaimer: You guys know it already, CW owns Arrow.**

* * *

_Oliver just nodded, knowing Diggle was right, he would have to tell them, warn them never to touch him in his sleep. _Tomorrow though. _For now he would take watch, and trust Digg and Sara to have his back when he was too tired to sleep.  
_

_**Oliver's POV**_

After Diggle had gone to settle down and get some sleep of his own Oliver continued to keep watch. He turned back to look inside the cave briefly (being careful to avert his gaze from the fire so as to protect his night vision) as he'd heard movement. Oliver wasn't at all surprised that it was Felicity who was moving. Oliver had already known that she was not truly asleep, he had been able to tell the differences in her breathing that showed she had only been pretending.

Oliver knew without asking that Felicity had done that so as to reassure the non-Team Members it was safe and okay to sleep. As ever, he was grateful for her thoughtfulness, the way she always thought of others, doing whatever she could to make things easier for them.

It had not escaped Oliver's attention that she had even made herself walk calmly away from Thea on that landmine instead of running to safety as he knew she had wanted to. The tension in her body had shown that, but Oliver knew that only Sara, Diggle, and he would have been able to see that tension. It meant more to him than he could say that Felicity had done that for his sister; and yet he knew no words were needed, the bond between their Team had rendered words unnecessary so often.

Even now, here in this place of his nightmares that she knew enough of to have every reason to be terrified, she was still putting others first and yet again Oliver blessed the day that Walter had given him her name as the "best IT geek QC had". As much as Oliver truly wished she had never been caught up in this life, he knew that without her he simply would not still be here. She gave him a reason to fight, to be the man she had always believed he was, and that was stronger than he was willing to admit even to himself.

Felicity came and sat down next to him as Diggle had done. She stayed quiet for a minute just giving him the comfort of her presence before saying anything.

"You don't have to worry you know, about the nightmares." She spoke gently but assuredly, showing her confidence and belief in what she was saying.

Oliver just looked at her quizzically knowing that she would continue.

"Yes they will come and being back here they will probably be bad. Yes the others will find out more than you wanted them to – we all will. But it won't matter Oliver, because you are not alone. We are here with you supporting you; John and I, we've got your back, Sara too. You don't have to explain more than you are willing to. I trust you to tell us what we need to know to survive, beyond that your past is your own. And if they don't like that it's tough!" Felicity finished with a look at his Mom and Laurel (who were asleep) as if threatening them to defy her.

Oliver felt her calming presence soothe him easing some of the tension he had been under since waking on the Amazo. It hadn't escaped his attention how Felicity had used the word 'survive', or that – generous as ever – she had included Sara in having his back even though she wasn't a true part of their Team. He grinned slightly at the thought of people going up against Felicity in defensive mode again. Oliver relaxed further understanding that without needing to say the words Felicity had just promised to make them back off if they pushed too far.

Seeing his smile Felicity returned it with a bigger one of her own before squeezing Oliver's arm and going back to lie down. Oliver noted that she moved her blanket closer to the entrance, to him, and he was grateful for the gesture of support and comfort.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**Third Party POV**_

Felicity woke in the night to the sounds she had been expecting but dreading. Oliver was in the throes of a nightmare. She quickly got up and went to him, only seconds behind Diggle. Sara stayed in her position keeping watch knowing that they could manage and if, for any reason, she was needed they would call her.

Oliver was moaning and writhing in agony in his memories, mumbling something that Felicity struggled to hear enough to make out. As much as she desperately wanted to touch him and give him the physical comfort of her presence she knew better.

"He's remembering the Amazo, telling me not to trade Hendrick's life for his and Slade's using the generator to make him pay." Sara said.

Even in this light Felicity could see Sara's eyes were haunted and she realized that Sara had memories of that happening that were just as clear as Oliver's.

"Shit." Diggle said succinctly. Normally he would bring Oliver back with his voice reminding the younger man he was at Verdant or wherever and not still on the Island; but, of course, he couldn't say that now. Diggle saw the look of understanding on Felicity's face as she realized the same thing.

"Oliver, Oliver it's Diggle, you're safe man. It's okay Oliver you're safe, you're safe." Diggle spoke as authoritatively as he could keeping his voice calm at the same time.

Felicity joined in adding her words to Diggle's. "It's okay Oliver you're safe. You're with us not Slade, you're with Digg and me Oliver. You're safe now okay Oliver, you're safe.

"Ollie?"

Diggle looked over at Thea's sleepy voice. The others were all waking up too as Oliver's moans became screams. _Crap._

Thea took a step forward before being stopped by Moira which Diggle was grateful for. Laurel came forward too though, her concern and fear for Oliver plain for all to see.

"Don't Laurel. You need to stay there." Diggle said as Felicity continued to try to bring Oliver back to reality without touching him.

Laurel hesitated, unsure what to do and Diggle understood that she just wanted to help Oliver; but he knew that her coming too near and getting hurt would definitely _not _help Oliver. Before he could explain though Oliver screamed again before going limp. Laurel made to start forward as Roy grabbed her restraining her, quickly followed by Lance adding his hand to Laurel's arm too. Diggle nodded his thanks quickly before turning back to Oliver and adding his efforts to Felicity's again. He was dimly aware of Sara speaking, explaining, but he didn't pay much attention as his focus was completely on Oliver.

"It's a nightmare that's all. He's okay you don't need to worry." Sara was careful to keep an eye on the outside as she spoke knowing how important it was to keep the watch and not let their guards down.

"So why can't I go near to him then?" Laurel asked, far from being reassured by her sister's words. She also didn't understand why Diggle and Felicity could be closer to Oliver but she couldn't. _Why aren't they touching him either?_

"Because it's too dangerous." Moira answered much to the Team's surprise.

"I made that mistake the first night he was back home. I tried to shake him awake and he threw me down before nearly crushing my windpipe – he was so fast I barely knew what was happening. Oliver came to just in time and I _never _want to see that look of guilt on my son's face again so you will stay back until Mr Diggle says otherwise." Moira ordered, surprising Laurel.

Diggle half heard Moira's words and appreciated the vote of confidence and back-up. But before he could acknowledge it Oliver sat up suddenly, instantly wide awake, and panting hard.

Oliver looked around widely but as soon as he saw Felicity's face he calmed down recognizing her and she put her hand on his arm squeezing gently in comfort.

"It's okay now, you're safe." Felicity repeated once more very quietly so that most of them couldn't hear her.

Oliver looked around quickly, assessing the situation as he realized instantly what had happened. _Damn, this is just what I didn't want. _He took in that his Mom and Walter were holding Thea back; and that Roy was doing the same to Laurel ostensibly with Lance's help. Oliver was relieved that this time he hadn't hurt anyone at least. His Team had made sure everyone had stayed back just as Diggle had said they would. Felicity and Diggle were the only ones within touching distance.

Oliver had taken a few deep breaths to bring his breathing and heart rate back under control as he'd assessed things. There were a lot of looks of fear and concern and it was plain he had badly scared them. However, much to Oliver's relief, his wider Team was showing only support and understanding. Oliver didn't want to say anything but knew, both from the memories and from their looks of fear, that he must have been screaming and Oliver appreciated they needed to understand what had happened.

"On the Amazo you remember that Slade threatened to torture me with the generator again, when I refused to say if I remembered the feel of the electricity?" Oliver paused briefly looking at their faces.

Lance nodded, he could see where this was going and felt more sympathy for Oliver than he ever had. _This must be so hard for him – and yet, he still doesn't back away from it. Oliver is stronger than I ever gave him credit for!_

Thea nodded too remembering Slade's words, she knew that she would _never _forget them. Slade's words, his threat, had scared her more than anything else that had happened at that point.

Oliver continued speaking "Well Slade was right, I do remember the feel of electricity and will never forget it. In the nightmare I was back there and I relived yet again the first time that he tortured me with that damned generator. Slade had me chained and was threatening Sara over the radio as he shocked me. She was in an impossible position though and she did all she could, she was trying to protect more than one life. Slade didn't care about that, he knew she was lying to try to save me and so he turned the electricity up to punish us both and kept shocking me until I passed out." Oliver had met Thea's eyes as he spoke knowing she would at least try to understand.

Oliver looked away then unable to bear the look of pity in Thea's eyes or in Walter's, or the looks of horror from the rest. This was why he had never revealed his scars. He had never wanted their pity, never wanted them to know how damaged he was, or to see them look at him in horror. Oliver met Felicity's eyes instead knowing that he would find only compassion and understanding there. After a minute he turned his back on everybody and went over to Sara.

"You might as well get some rest now. I won't sleep anymore tonight." Oliver spoke quietly keeping his back to the others. The last thing he wanted right now was conversation or questions.

Sara nodded her understanding even though she doubted that she would get much sleep either, at least she would be able to rest. Sara knew that Oliver needed to be alone with his thoughts and respected that. She went and laid down between Oliver and the rest of the group, her body a physical barrier between them, as Diggle and Felicity followed suit. They couldn't protect Oliver from his memories, his own mind, but they _would _protect him from having to talk any further this night. Roy came and joined them too, completing the wider Team Arrow, and all four of them together gave off such a forbidding air that nobody had the nerve to try to argue or question further.

Team Arrow had Oliver's back.

* * *

**AN2: Really hope you're enjoying it still :-) Follows, favs, and reviews feed the Muse lol, thank you so much!**


	10. Go Team Arrow!

**Chapter 10 – Go Team Arrow**

**AN: Hey all, thanks so much for your continually incredibly responses, you're amazing! Rennie thanks for yet another fast turnaround allowing me to update so fast again :-D**

**I mention Oliver's fighting styles in this & have taken the info is from Arrow wiki so sorry if it's wrong guys :)**

**Disclaimer: I know, I know, I don't own Arrow.**

* * *

_They couldn't protect Oliver from his memories, his own mind, but they _would _protect him from having to talk any further this night. Roy came and joined them too, completing the wider Team Arrow, and all four of them together gave off such a forbidding air that nobody had the nerve to try to argue or question further._

_Team Arrow had Oliver's back._

**_Felicity's POV_**

Felicity woke early and looking around saw that everyone else was still asleep, save Diggle who was sitting where Oliver had been, keeping watch. He looked over to her and half smiled before answering her unspoken question.

"Oliver's outside training."

Felicity came and sat down on the rock next to Diggle and saw Oliver outside as Diggle had said. Oliver was training parkour style, treating every part of the landscape around him as a tool to be used. Felicity was taken aback at the way Oliver was going, the speed he was going. She had seen him parkour before of course – many, many times – but always in the lair or the city, never out here on the Island like this. It was so impressive, but at the same time it was strange to see him working out with his shirt on. Oliver stopped at the base of a tree before going at it as if it was the training dummy. Felicity realized this is how and where he had learnt most of what he knew in the first place.

Oliver was obviously very tense and seemed angry too and Felicity knew it was because of his nightmare waking everybody up. It had taken a lot out of him having to explain it everyone, especially after just having to relive it. She wanted to help him but wasn't sure how. As the others woke up the mood was very subdued and on edge throughout the camp. Felicity looked at Diggle knowing he was worried about it too. They needed to do something to improve the morale, she just needed to think of what.

Felicity looked around for inspiration before perceiving that the answer was right in front of her. Oliver. He needed to work off tension and they needed to get the images and sounds of last night out of their minds. They needed to be able to trust in him in his abilities, in the abilities of the whole Team to keep them safe. _What better way to do that than by seeing him spar?! _She though smiling.

**_Diggle's POV_**

"What you planning in that genius brain of yours?" Diggle asked seeing her look.

"Oh nothing, just how to improve Oliver's mood and restore morale in one go." Felicity answered smugly.

"And how are you going to do that then?" Diggle asked slightly warily. He knew that when Felicity got that look there was no arguing with her so whatever it was she had planned this time it was going to happen, he just hoped he was going to like it.

"I'm not, you are." Felicity grinned even wider at the look on Diggle's face. "Or more precisely you, Oliver, and Sara are going to. Look, he needs to work off some of that energy and regain his focus on now instead of on last night and they need to get last night out of their heads too and need to trust we can protect them but how can they do that when they don't even really know that we're a Team let alone what it is you guys are capable of so the best way for them to know that is to see. So you show them, you spar with Oliver first and then both of you with Sara just as you do in the lair."

Diggle nodded slowly, agreeing. Felicity was right _as always_. He was going to end up with a load more bruises, of course, but that was nothing new when he sparred with them. _We need to train anyway, so why not take the chance to encourage them all at the same time?_

"Okay yeah, it's a good plan Felicity. I'll talk to Sara and the rest while you talk to Oliver." Diggle was happy to do it, but as it was her idea she could be the one to tell Oliver, just in case he didn't agree. _There's no way Oliver will be able to win an argument with Felicity anyway._

He went over to Sara who had come outside and was just finishing a breakfast of leftovers from last night's dinner. Diggle explained Felicity's plan to her and although Sara was unsure to start with, she agreed it was a good idea and worth a try. They needed to train anyway and Diggle had yet to train out here, he knew he needed to familiarize himself far more with the landscape.

From the sounds of it Oliver wasn't agreeing with Felicity so easily though. Diggle just smiled and left them to it as he entered the cave to speak to the rest who were now start to stir and get up too. _There's no way he's going to have any choice about this so they might as well be ready._

"Morning all." Diggle paused waiting for their full attention before continuing. "We know that you're all still a little shaken up from last night and everything else that's happened in the last couple of days. We understand that and know that you don't know enough to trust us to protect you yet. So, we've agreed it would be a good idea for you to actually _see _what Oliver can do, what we all can do."

Diggle looked around gauging the various expressions. Thea looked curiously interested, as did Laurel. Moira looked concerned but seemed willing to listen. Lance and Walked both shared a small smile, they had seen the Arrow up close after all and, of course, Lance had seen Sara too. Roy was clearly worried and Diggle understood he wasn't ready to reveal about the Mirakuru yet. Diggle shook his head very slightly at Roy to indicate that they weren't going to say anything about that until _Roy _was ready. Roy sighed slightly in relief and mouthed a silent thank you, he was standing at the back and Diggle was the only one who could see his face.

Diggle turned and walked back outside knowing they would follow. Sara was already there standing off to one side. She had agreed it would be best for Oliver and him to spar first, impress with what they could do. Then Sara would join in to prove that size and strength was definitely not everything – they needed to know that just because Slade was stronger didn't mean he would win and Sara was the best way to make that point.

Oliver was standing there ready too, glaring at Felicity, but still ready - except for one thing. Diggle noticed thatOliver still had his shirt on and he never trained with it on. If they were to trust Team Arrow then they had to get to know them as they were, as they really were – no more hiding. Diggle walked over to the clearing where Oliver was waiting before stopping just short and removing his own shirt.

**_Oliver's POV_**

Diggle looked at Oliver pointedly who hesitated before giving a single nod to show he was going to remove his own shirt, understanding the point Diggle was making. _But not quite yet._ Oliver understood Felicity's plan even if he wasn't completely sure about it. When it came to the emotional stuff her instincts were far better than his own however so he was willing to trust her and follow her lead. Oliver wanted to be sure that everybody recognized Diggle's skills and training before they started sparing. _Time for a little introduction._

"Okay you all know John Diggle and have become used to him being my shadow as my faithful bodyguard..."

"Black driver." Diggle said with a grin, making Oliver laugh briefly before he continued.

"...but you don't all know his background. As some of you know Digg is Special Forces out of Khandahar, so he is very highly trained and very skilled." Oliver paused to let them absorb that, he knew that everybody present had a very high regard for the military and had a lot of respect for the men and women who put their lives on the line for their country, as did he. "As well as that, Digg has also been working as my partner since a few months after my return. Many of the lives that have been saved have been down to him."

"Thanks man." Diggle said very quietly, so that only Oliver and Sara could hear.

**_Third Party POV_**

Oliver and Diggle put their combat knives and the bamboo rods Oliver had also grabbed from the fuselage to one side, meaning to show them hand-to-hand combat first.

"Ermm, Ollie, are you sure about this? I know you're the Arrow and everything, but Diggle is well..." Thea's voice faltered tailing off, not quite knowing _how _to finish that sentence without offending either man.

"It's fine Speedy, I know he has arms the size of bowling balls but you don't need to worry." Oliver reassured her, trying and failing to hide a smirk.

"Okayyy." Thea said, still unsure. "But he's not actually going to hurt you or anything?"

Roy laughed at that. "Thea, these guys don't hold back when they spar, everything is all-out, no holds barred, but your brother won't be the one getting hurt, trust me!"

Diggle glared at Roy, trying but failing to be offended, he knew that Roy was all too right – after all that size was not important was the very point they were going to illustrate when Sara joined in. _Besides, the only time I manage to hurt Oliver is when he's distracted, which is so not going to be now._

Oliver took his shirt off deliberately facing them all, as if daring them to say anything this time. Diggle was right, this was about trust and if they were to trust him then they had to know him. That meant being himself and not one of the masks he normally wore – therefore Oliver needed to train as he always did. Besides, as Felicity had pointed out, it would be a good way to stop them focussing on the scars and let him see what he had become in spite of them.

Diggle saw Oliver give the slightest hint of a nod, the closest he'd ever get to a warning and then they were fighting all out and going at it as fast as they could. Diggle's style was mostly the Eskrima that the Special Forces taught, with a mix of things he'd picked up from Oliver and Sara along the way. Oliver's style by comparison was far more of a mix, reflecting something of each of the mentors he had had including various types of martial arts from Eskrima to Wing Chun, from Hapkido to Jujitsu, not to mention the things he had learnt from the Bratva.

The non-Team members watching were amazed at the speed of what they were watching. Hands and legs were flying everywhere, blocks, kicks, hits, flips. They could hardly keep up with what they were seeing. Despite the speed of the fight it was very clear almost instantly that Oliver was the better fighter, Roy had been right, there was no way Oliver would be the one getting hurt.

After a few minutes of hand-to-hand Oliver said "Weapons."

Both Oliver and Diggle grabbed the knives without pausing and adding them in to the fight. Diggle did manage to catch Oliver, once, but Oliver caught Diggle far more times and Diggle wondered if Oliver had allowed him that one hit. He didn't have time to think about it though as the sparring required his full attention.

Soon after that Oliver flipped out of yet another failed hold, grabbing both the bamboo batons and threw one straight to Diggle. Thea, Moira, and Laurel couldn't believe what they were seeing, they would _never _have believed Oliver capable of this, this level of skill – to be going up against a Special Forces guy Diggle's size and to clearly have the upper hand against him, it stunned them. Walter and Lance were less surprised, both having seen the Arrow in action up close (and, of course, Lance had seen Sara too), but even so it was still fantastic to watch.

Felicity looked around at the faces happily, knowing that she had called it right, morale was already improving and she could see the trust and confidence in their protectors building – and it would only get better when Sara joined in.

A few minutes later Oliver called a break, it was time for Sara to join in. But before she joined in he needed to make a point, needed them to understand.

"So now you've seen what we can do hopefully you are starting to understand that being the biggest or the strongest guy around does not mean you will automatically have the upper hand. Diggle is a very skilled fighter and can take out most people that he goes up against. But unlike Slade and his guys, Diggle accepts that his strength won't necessarily win him the fight. Thinking you are the best and that nobody can beat you is a sure way to lose and that's why Slade will lose this. He does not believe that anyone can stand against him, he's wrong. His mind has been warped and he's forgotten how deadly it is to underestimate people."

"Many of the criminals that we have gone up against we have been able to find, to take down because they have made that same mistake. Yes, Diggle and I are the fighters, but without Felicity we wouldn't be able to do half of what we do. She's the one who talked Detective Lance through deactivating the first earthquake machine, she's the one who found Roy when he was being held hostage, who found Walter too. Felicity is one of our secret weapons and everybody always underestimates her, big mistake." Olive grinned at Felicity seeing her blushing and opening her mouth before clamping both hands over it. Evidently she wasn't willing to trust her brain-to-mouth filter.

"Go Team Arrow!" Felicity finally said before re-clamping her hands over her mouth.

Oliver just smiled, having now given up on telling her not to call them that. _It's not like I'm going to win that argument anyway. _He continued speaking to them all.

"Slade has made a second big mistake too. Laurel, you asked last night why Sara had to take a watch shift. I told you the truth but not all of it, it wasn't mine to tell without her agreement. Sara is the other person Slade continues to underestimate and she is going to prove to you all now that numbers, size, and strength simply do not matter when going up against somebody more skilled than you."

Oliver paused, looking at the expression of pride on Lance's face. He saw Walter glance at them briefly and it was clear his mind was going back to their comments in the fuselage yesterday about Sara being the better fighter.

"You might want to move back a little." Oliver advised as the non-Team Members had closed in a little. They backed away fast but Oliver's attention was already on Sara.

Sara suddenly flipped into the clearing, knife out in full on attack mode without giving any warning – not that either Oliver or Diggle had expected one. If the others had been amazed by Oliver's fight with Diggle, they were stunned by the sight of Sara going up against the both of them – and having the upper hand! This fast was even faster and Sara was a weapon down on the guys as there had only been two bamboo batons, but it made little difference. She was simply too fast, too skilled.

After a few more minutes Diggle backed out leaving Oliver and Sara to continue. Their fight took in every aspect of landscape around them. Trees, rocks, ditches, the parkour was like nothing the others had ever seen and all the time the knives were flashing as they fought. Neither was able to pin the other for more than a millisecond, both pulling moves that only Diggle and Felicity had ever seen before. Even Roy was stunned by some of it. Most of his time in the lair he had been training so he hadn't seen Oliver and Sara go at it like this for more than a minute or two ever.

After sparing a little longer both suddenly stopped at a signal none of the others, including Diggle, were able to distinguish. Oliver and Sara were breathing hard, but yet not out of breath. They had a few cuts, Oliver more than Sara Diggle saw with a smirk. _Now he knows how I feel._

"Size means nothing, strength means nothing. Speed and skill, your training and focus, are far more important. As is having a Team around you to have your back. Slade does not have that, we do – and that's why we will win." Oliver finished triumphantly.

"Go Team Arrow!" Thea said happily, echoing Felicity's earlier words.


	11. Team Arrow Planning

**Chapter 11 – Team Arrow Planning**

**AN: Sooo, I take it the phrase 'Go Team Arrow' was popular then going on your reviews – thanks so much everyone! :-D  
Rennie - an extra big thank you goes to you for this chapter & helping me fix it!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by CW, not me.**

* * *

_"Size means nothing, strength means nothing. Speed and skill, your training and focus, are far more important. As is having a Team around you to have your back. Slade does not have that, we do – and that's why we will win." Oliver finished triumphantly._

_"Go Team Arrow!" Thea said happily, echoing Felicity's earlier words._

_**Oliver's POV**_

After the sparring matches morale _had _been a lot higher and Oliver had to admit that Felicity had been completely right about the whole plan. _As always._ He didn't know why he bothered arguing with her anymore, it wasn't as if he ever won anyway, not on that kind of thing – not on anything at all really. Felicity did defer to him for operational and strategic matters, but that was her choosing to defer to him, not him actually winning.

Oliver kept his shirt off defiantly, now that he had shown his scars fully again there was really no point in hiding them anymore. _If the others don't like seeing them then it was tough, to use Felicity's word from the previous night._

As Diggle and Felicity had known, seeing them fighting had been more than enough to distract them from his scars anyway. Although Oliver couldn't help but notice that Felicity always seemed to find a reason to get him shirtless – not that she'd admit to it of course. _Mind you, I won't admit to noticing she actually does it either._ Oliver thought with a wry smile. Sooner or later things were going to come to a head between them he knew, especially with the way that all emotions seemed to be heightened on the Island.

Oliver wasn't quite sure how he felt about that to be honest. He knew that his feelings for her went well beyond those for a normal Team Member or friend. Slade had dragged her into all of this as it was so, despite his best intentions, hiding his feelings hadn't helped to keep her out of all this. Oliver knew he had made far too many rash decisions when it came to the women in his life, both on and off the Island, so he wasn't prepared to rush into anything this time.

_Felicity is too special, too important, to mess this up._ He needed to be careful and let her know how very much she meant to him. Oliver knew that Felicity was his center, his anchor point, if he lost her he would be nothing. Oliver wished more than ever that Tommy was still alive, he missed his best friend and wingman as this was exactly the kind of thing he would have talked to him about. Oliver knew that, as close as he was to Diggle, nobody would ever be able to take Tommy's place. Although the bond he shared with Diggle was just as close, it was still a different kind of bond.

Oliver grabbed some breakfast for himself as he saw Sara sharing out the remains between those who had yet to have any, before going to sit down next to Diggle who was already eating his own share.

"We need to check out Fyres' camp today and see what Slade has left there and what he's done with the place today. You up for coming with me? Sara can stay here with the rest." Oliver had already intended to do that anyway, but he still wanted to check that Diggle was up for it. He had previously planned to leave Sara with the rest of the group, but now that Roy was with them Oliver felt more confident about splitting up the group. He knew Roy wouldn't hesitate to do whatever was needed to keep Thea safe, especially as this was now the second time Slade had gone after her.

_**Third Party POV**_

"Sure man. So that's where his army of mercs was based right?" Diggle remembered the various snippets Oliver had told him over the past couple of years well enough. But now that they were actually going there it was important to get as much information as possible. Especially under these circumstances.

"Yes. It's a decent size camp and even had a portable ATC and a landing strip, until Slade and I blew it up that is." Oliver confirmed.

Diggle stayed quiet as Oliver spoke, wanting to know more about the man who had been Oliver's friend once upon a time but was now his worst enemy. He knew just how important it was to have as much info as you can about your foe, but pushing Oliver wouldn't help. He had long since learnt that staying quiet with only the occasional prompt was the best way to get Oliver to reveal things.

"Apart from the ATC though all the structures were tents and bamboo cages, very little of which was still there by the time I left two years ago. It was a decent size encampment originally."

"Until you blew it up you mean." Diggle commented.

"Yeah, until then." Oliver smiled remembering the destruction of the place he had hated so much. "It was in a clearing not far from a waterfall, but how much of that clearing remains now I don't know." Oliver knew just how fast the forest could reclaim the land for its own without man in the way to stop it.

"Okay. So there's no real way of knowing what we will find when we get there then?" Diggle queried.

"No. But we should be able to check it out before we get too close. There were a couple of good vantage points not too far from the camp. Slade showed them to me and we used them a few times."

"Meaning he knows exactly where they are too." Diggle replied following Oliver's thinking and understanding that there was a good chance that they could be booby-trapped.

"Exactly. The Island maps along with Slade's ASIS satellite images were all missing from the fuselage so I can't use them to show you where we're going." Oliver explained.

"Well we knew it was unlikely they'd still be here." Diggle replied not willing to get caught up on the things they didn't have. There was nothing to be gained by thinking like that after all. _We have to make do with what it is that we actually do have._

"Before you go any further there's the small matter of your back Oliver." Felicity broke in pointedly, having come up behind them while they were talking.

"My back?" Oliver queried, not knowing what Felicity was getting at and it wasn't as if he had taken any bad hits during the sparring he knew.

"Yes. All that fighting was good for everyone's spirits, but on top of last night it seems to have broken some of your stitches. You're bleeding again." Felicity expanded.

Oliver was surprised by that, he genuinely hadn't felt them, had been too distracted by talking about the camp he realized. Now that she'd pointed it out though Oliver could feel a few small trickles of warmth running down and realized she was right.

"I'll get Sara to redo them." Felicity said.

"Nah it's all right, leave her be." Diggle said seeing that Sara was with Laurel and her Dad. "I'll do them. You got that kit still Felicity?"

"Yeah it's right here." Felicity responded holding it out.

_Shouldda known she'd have it ready._ Diggle thought. _One day we'll stop expecting anything else! _He realized with a smile as she also held out a bottle of water and a handkerchief.

"It's your Mom's." Felicity clarified, looking at Oliver and seeing his quizzical expression. She turned the handkerchief slightly to reveal the hand-embroidered monogram 'MDQ'.

That made more sense to both Oliver and Diggle as they knew Felicity preferred to use tissues and insisted they were far more hygienic than handkerchiefs. _Guess she ran out of tissues._ Oliver thought.

Diggle got to work as Oliver continued to tell them what else he could about the camp, not that there was a great deal more he could be certain of after all this time. Still, it was important to know as much as they could, even whilst they acknowledged there was no real way of knowing how much of what Oliver knew would still be accurate.

Just as Oliver stopped Diggle finished patching him back up and he came and sat down with his partners so that they were all facing each other. Felicity and Diggle both knew that Oliver was holding back, reluctant to say everything for some reason. After giving him a few more minutes Felicity realized that Oliver was struggling to find the words he needed so she decided to help him out.

"Oliver we need to know what went on there so we can be wary for the traps that Slade may have laid." She said gently.

They had already seen that Slade had a propensity for recreating past situations, in particular ones that were painful to Oliver. Especially after Oliver had filled them both in on the full details of exactly how he had found Roy.

"An awful lot happened at that camp, none of it good." Oliver said, struggling to hold back the emotion from his voice, and both Felicity and Diggle were forcibly reminded of Oliver's outburst to Felicity in the lair all that time ago. _'These were_ five years_, five years where nothing good happened!'_

Felicity's heart nearly broke as she remembered that, understanding that this was where those five years had taken place. _It was hard enough for Oliver to talk to us about this stuff back at the lair, how much harder it must be for him to do so here - where it actually happened._

"It's where I was first tortured, when I refused to give up Yao Fei." Oliver went on, no longer even trying to hide the emotion. "Where I was kept in a bamboo cage. Where Slade and I failed to escape on the supply plane. Where I first killed a man. It's where Slade and I were captured when I insisted on trying to rescue Yao Fei; and it was where Yao Fei was killed in front of us and his daughter Shado. I took so many beatings and injuries in that camp that I'm not even sure I can remember them all anymore."

Diggle realized he didn't actually know how many times Oliver had been tortured, or captured for that matter, during those five years. There had never been any need for him to know and so he had never asked. That kind of information wasn't the sort of thing any man had a right to ask for from another – every soldier knew that and would never break that unspoken rule. But now, as much as he hated it, it appeared that a lot more of that information was going to be relevant and Diggle truly felt for Oliver having to reveal it.

"Okay, so we focus on the ones, the places, that would have a significance to Slade – that were connected to Shado." Felicity said knowing that Oliver needed something to focus on and that he was in danger of going too deep into those memories.

"Okay." Oliver nodded his agreement, grateful for the rescue. As always Felicity was the one to bring him back from himself, to save him from his memories, and to give him the focus he needed.

"The vantage points for the failed supply plane mission, the main tent area, the ATC, and the area where the prisoners' cages where will all be significant to him." Oliver said. "As will be the supply 'road' where we captured the missile launcher initially. That was the place where I first killed a man – to save Slade's life."

"There is one other vantage point though that we can use. Slade and I didn't use it because it wasn't as good as the others, but that means there is more chance of it being safe still. At least I will be able to show you the basic lay of the land from there before we get any closer. It is a bit of a climb though." Oliver warned.

Oliver knew Diggle had no problem with heights, but it was one thing climbing with ropes and a harness, wearing proper climbing gear – and completely another free climbing rocks with no safety equipment. Especially when those rocks had a tendency to be slippery with moss. That was the other reason he and Slade hadn't used that vantage point, there was no reason increasing the risks if you didn't have to – and the others provided better views anyway.

"I'll follow your lead." Diggle said happily enough, trusting Oliver. He knew it must be pretty bad for Oliver to have given a warning, but at the same time Oliver wouldn't have suggested it if he thought it was beyond Diggle's capabilities.

"I need to speak with Sara, get some things set up here for the day, and get the water collection going again. We'll go once I'm sorted. Get one of the kit bags in case we find anything we can use. We won't need any water but if there's an empty bottle or two that would be good as we can collect water on the way. Leave the batons for Sara, she can start some basic training going with them while we're gone. Felicity she'll need you to support her and have her back. Use Walter and Lance to help you if you need to." Oliver instructed. "Roy too if you need him."

Oliver was wary of leaving Sara in command and knew she wasn't good with people like that. She had minimal people skills and they hadn't been improved by her time in the League. Sara was trying to work on them now he knew, but it would be Felicity who would be the glue to hold everyone together even if Sara was the one who would overtly be in command. Sara was the only one with sufficient fighting skills and so there was no choice there.

Oliver just hoped that the display of her abilities would make the rest wary of crossing Sara – just as Felicity had already proven the previous day that it was a very bad idea to cross her! He'd noticed straight away that others were more careful of how they spoke around her and less willing to argue with her. _Looks like people are finally figuring out how scary Felicity can be._ Oliver thought with a wry smile, realizing how unlikely it was that she would actually need Walter, Lance, or Roy to back her up. Nevertheless, it was good for her to know that they would be there while he couldn't be and Oliver decided to speak to them as well so that they would be prepared if needed.

Diggle and Oliver left Felicity sitting in the sun as she finally ate her share of the food as they both went to their separate tasks. Once she was out of earshot they agreed that Diggle should speak to Walter, Lance, and Roy instead of Oliver; and meanwhile Oliver would speak to Sara and then to Moira, Thea, and Laurel together. That way everybody would be aware of where they were going and why, and what the plans were for the day.

Sara agreed easily enough to the plans, having already been aware that Oliver and Diggle would be going anyway following the discussion yesterday back at the fuselage. Truth be told she was glad that she wasn't going to be the one going to Fyres' camp. She had enough bad memories of this place as it was without having to go there as well. Sara acknowledged that she may have to at some point, was happy to take the reprieve offered.

Initially Sara had been worried about whether everybody would actually listen to her taking charge in Oliver's absence, but even in the short time that had passed since their sparring the others had been more wary of her. Plus Oliver told her that Felicity would be backing her up and Sara was more than willing to trust Felicity's instincts when it came to managing people and keeping the group together. Sara was well aware that Felicity was the reason that Team Arrow was such a strong team.

_**Oliver's POV**_

Thea, Moira, and Laurel were not pleased to hear that Oliver would be leaving them yet again, and that he would be taking Diggle with him this time. However, it was evident that they now understood that Sara really was capable of fighting and they trusted her more to look after them, thanks to Felicity's plan.

Thea spoke first simply offering her support. "Stay safe Ollie."

Oliver could see his sister wasn't happy at him going but she could understand it was important and he really appreciated her support. He was struck yet again by how much his sister had matured over the past year or so, she was now so difference from the sister he had first come back to and Oliver was proud of her.

His Mom nodded her agreement to Thea's words before putting her hand on his arm, uncertainly. "We need to talk later Oliver, please?"

He was surprised to notice that she had phrased it as a request instead of an order she was insisting upon like she always had. The events of last night had left her seriously subdued, even though she had brightened up a little after the sparring.

"Sure, when we get back okay." Oliver offered. If she was willing to ask for once then he needed to make an effort too. Life on the Island was too fragile to leave their existing disputes in play, even without Slade threatening them. He knew that he had to be willing to work on their relationship, especially as it seemed she was trying to make the first move.

Laurel seemed more wary and unhappy than his Mom and Thea had and she opened her mouth to say something. Before she spoke though Oliver noted that her eyes caught sight of something over his shoulder and she hesitated before repeating Thea's words. It was plain that hadn't been what she had intended to say however.

Oliver turned round to where Laurel had been looking only to see Felicity standing there looking at them pointedly. Felicity met his eyes with a smile and Oliver knew instantly that she had been the reason Laurel had changed her intended words. He returned her smile knowing that, as ever, Felicity had his back.


	12. Thea

**Chapter 12 – Thea**

**AN: Big shout out of thanks to all the Guests & Reviewers I can't PM to thank personally, you are all brilliant & I'm very grateful to you! Rennie thank you more than ever for getting this done so fast despite real life stuff getting in the way!**

**Disclaimer: Yup, this show still isn't mine – Arrow belongs to CW.**

* * *

_Oliver turned round to where Laurel had been looking only to see Felicity standing there looking at them pointedly. Felicity met his eyes with a smile and Oliver knew instantly that she had been the reason Laurel had changed her intended words. He returned her smile knowing that, as ever, Felicity had his back._

_**Thea's POV**_

Thea had been about to go relieve herselfwhen she noticed that Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle were sitting nearby and she could hear that they were deep in conversation. Without meaning to though she over heard Oliver speaking.

"...awful lot happened at that camp, none of it good." Oliver stopped speaking for a minute after Diggle sat down.

Thea paused, not wanting to go further and risk them noticing, she didn't want to disturb them and this was clearly a private conversation they were having. As she hesitated though Oliver started speaking again and Thea found herself unable to leave, she was rooted to the ground by what she was hearing.

"It's where I was first tortured, when I refused to give up Yao Fei. Where I was kept in a bamboo cage. Where Slade and I failed to escape on the supply plane. Where I first killed a man. It's where Slade and I were captured when I insisted on trying to rescue Yao Fei; and it was where Yao Fei was killed in front of us and his daughter Shado. I took so many beatings and injuries in that camp that I'm not even sure I can remember them all anymore."

The pain in her brother's voice was heartbreaking as she listened in horror to him admitting to just some of what he had been through. Thea could remember when she had first seen Oliver's scars she had asked him what happened and he had refused to talk about, said he needed time. Now she could see why! Thea wished she had never pushed him now, but there was no way that the spoilt brat that she had been back then would even have been able to start to understand just what had happened to her brother.

Thea could feel the tears pricking in her eyes and as Felicity started to speak the spell was broken. Thea ran for the safety of the cave as fast and silently as she could, getting there just as the first tears broke over and ran down her cheeks.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Thea struggled for the rest of the day to try to keep what she had heard out of her mind until Oliver returned and she would be able to speak to him finally. But despite being put through her paces by Sara,Thea was unable to focus. _Can't believe how much of a slave driver that woman is! _As a result she spent a good portion of the day being thrown on her back on the ground by Felicity, who Sara had partnered her with for the self-defense lessons Oliver and Sara had decided they all needed.

_**Felicity's POV**_

Felicity could clearly see how distracted Thea was and after several attempts she finally got the younger girl to quietly admit to what was wrong while they took a break.

"I heard him." Thea said, but Felicity just looked blank wondering just what and who Thea had heard this time.

"Earlier, when Oliver was talking to you ... I … I overheard what he said, about the camp and … what happened to him." Thea finally managed to get out.

_Oh crap! _Felicity thought succinctly at the same time as being surprised that Oliver had continued speaking and actually admitted to all _that _whilst his sister was within earshot. Felicity knew all too well that Oliver would have been completely aware that Thea was there, even if Thea didn't realize that – yet.

Suddenly it became all too clear why Oliver had hesitated to continue speaking after Diggle sat down. It hadn't been so much that he was reluctant to tell _them_, but that he was reluctant to do so while Thea could hear. That he had decided to do so anyway was huge – far bigger than Felicity knew Thea would be able to appreciate for now. As much as Felicity wanted to let know Thea know just how much Oliver must trust her to have said all _that _while she could hear, she knew that it would have to come from him. This was a conversation that the two siblings needed to have together, in private.

_**Thea's POV**_

Thea was infuriated by Felicity's refusal to properly discuss what she had overheard and was still amazed by the way that Felicity and Diggle had hardly even seemed to react to what they had heard. Thea had seen a small glint of light reflecting off a single tear on the blond's cheek, but apart from that neither of them had even seemed to react at all. She could see this Team was incredibly tight even if she didn't fully understand their bond yet, so Thea couldn't understand why they hadn't been more affected. Thea knew that this was yet another set of words that she would never be able to erase from her memory.

Despite all her best efforts throughout the rest of their training, all she could get out of Felicity was that she needed to sit down and properly speak to Oliver. Very few people had ever been able to match Thea Queen when it came to stubbornness (and until now she had been related to all of them) but it appeared that in Felicity Smoak Thea had finally met her match.

Thea gave up as soon as the training was over and she went to speak to Roy instead. She was still angry with him for keeping all of this from her, even as she acknowledged that it hadn't been his secret to tell. However, it wouldn't hurt to let her boyfriend see that anger, maybe she'd be able to get some answers out of him instead. Roy had hardly ever been able to refuse her when she pushed on something after all – and on this Thea intended to push.

She knew that Felicity was right and she definitely would need to speak to her brother. But Thea wanted as much information as she could get before having that conversation. She needed to know why he had kept it all from her, from all of them. She could understand keeping his identity as the Arrow secret well enough. But she'd seen of his scars so why hadn't he been able to ever talk about any of them? _Surely as time had gone by he could have talked to us, to me?_

Much to Thea's surprise, Roy proved to be just as obstinate at Felicity and he refused to tell her anything either. All she managed to get out of him was that he knew hardly anything either and Roy said that she now knew more than he did about some of Oliver's Island experiences. Thea was quick to notice that Roy had said 'some' and not 'all' of Oliver's experiences. Roy said that Felicity and Diggle knew far more than him, but her brother really did _not _like to talk about his time on the Island. What little Oliver had revealed to Roy he had done so in confidence and Roy was not about to break those confidences.

As frustrated as Thea was by this, she was also impressed by her boyfriend's loyalty to her brother and was grateful to Roy for that. With everything Oliver had been through - and she was starting to understand she may never even know half of what that actually was – it was clear that Oliver was in need of good friends. Thea was happy that her brother had found such good and loyal people to be with him and support him. It was evident that they truly were a Team and a closer one that Thea had ever before seen. No wonder Felicity had always seemed to be by Oliver's side despite their insistences that they were just friends and nothing was going on. _Mind you, only a blind man could miss the way that he looks at her! Going to have to do something about that ..._

**AN2: OK so I know this update was a little shorter, but the next chapter is proving hard to write & as I'm now back at work I have less time, sorry! Will get the next update done as soon as I can & I ask for your patience in the meantime. Thank you all! Please do me a favour & continue to let me know what you think, thank you!**


	13. Fyres' Camp

**Chapter 13 – Fyres' Camp**

**AN: WARNING This chapter contains descriptions of torture – in line with the show, but please do exercise caution and be very careful if this is something you may be sensitive to. Rennie - your fast turnarounds are nothing short of amazing, thank you so much for these & your support my cariad!**

**Disclaimer: Same as ever guys, you know it - I own nothing.**

* * *

_With everything Oliver had been through - and she was starting to understand she may never even know half of what that actually was – it was clear that Oliver was in need of good friends. Thea was happy that her brother had found such good and loyal people to be with him and support him. It was evident that they truly were a Team and a closer one that Thea had ever before seen. No wonder Felicity had always seemed to be by Oliver's side despite their insistences that they were just friends and nothing was going on. _Mind you, only a blind man could miss the way that he looks at her! Going to have to do something about that ...

_**Mixed POV**_

After leaving the others back at the cave Oliver and Diggle had made good progress towards Fyres' camp, stopping only briefly on the way for Oliver to restart a water collection system so that they wouldn't run out of drinkable water.

"It's not as pure as they will be used to, but it's safe enough to drink." Oliver commented.

"As long as it's safe it doesn't matter man, don't worry about it." Diggle reassured. He suspected that certain members of the group wouldn't be too keen on it, but they would just have to put up with it. If Oliver said it was safe to drink then that was all that mattered.

After a few hours they made it to the vantage point Oliver had mentioned and Diggle understood what Oliver had meant. The climb was pretty steep and there was moss on the rocks. The rock face itself had a lot of shale and he suspected it would be dangerous going, especially if that moss made things as slippery as Diggle suspected it would be. He took a couple of deep breaths before indicating to Oliver to go first, knowing that Oliver would see handholds and grip points far more clearly so it would be safer for him to follow the path that Oliver took.

"You ready for this?" Oliver queried before starting. "You can keep watch down here if you prefer?" He knew full well that Diggle wouldn't stay behind, but wanted to give him the option anyway.

_**Diggle's POV**_

"Nah man, I'm coming with you. Lead the way." Diggle replied with a small smile.

They stayed quiet after that needing to focus on the climb itself. As the wind was getting stronger too Diggle was loathe to speak in case any sound carried to the camp. Unless Oliver signalled it was okay he was going to stay silent.

Once they got to the top Oliver spoke quietly. "The view is more obscured than it used to be, but you can still see some of it from here."

Oliver quietly pointed out to him the relevant areas that they had agreed Slade would be likely to focus on. The camp wasn't in a great condition, but the main tent was still in one piece. The area had plenty of cover and concealed areas, there was no way from here that they would be able to verify if it was clear or not. Diggle realized that was going to be the case regardless, there were just too many possibilities to check. Going in was going to be a risk, but it was one they needed to take.

Diggle could see straight away this was a far more defensible area than the fuselage or even the cave, and yet he knew that even after getting rid of Fyres they hadn't taken the camp for their own – just as Oliver hadn't suggested using it now.

"There's too many bad memories here. Slade, Shado, and I were more comfortable in the fuselage; it was ours and Fyres never did find out where it was so it was still safe even if he had managed to get a message out before we destroyed the camp – we were never certain about that." As usual Oliver answered before Diggle had even phrased the question.

They stayed there observing the camp for a fair while before climbing back down. They had not seen any sign of movement within the camp, but both knew that this meant nothing with that many areas where someone could conceal themselves. _Just because they couldn't see anybody, definitely doesn't mean they aren't there. _Diggle knew.

Diggle was quite pleased that he had managed to make it all the way up and back down again with nothing more than a few small scrapes. Even though the shale had moved quite a lot and it had caused him to lose his footing on more than one occasion. Diggle was just relieved that he had managed to not fall and break something. _Would be more than a little embarrassing!_

When they got into the camp Oliver stopped short suddenly. "Something is wrong."

"What?" Diggle was instantly more alert than ever.

"I don't know, but the airflow is off."

Diggle didn't completely understand that comment but knew Oliver well enough not to argue, if he said something was wrong then that was enough for him. _Oliver didn't survive here for five years by ignoring his instincts._

"How do you want to proceed?" Diggle asked.

_**Oliver's POV**_

Oliver was relieved that Diggle hadn't queried his comment – even though he knew it was more than a little vague. He knew that was a sign of how far they had come as a Team that he didn't even have to explain for the older man to trust him and Oliver valued that trust highly.

"We split up. You stay here while I go ahead. That way if I get caught you will still be okay. Head back to the cave if I don't come back in 15 minutes." Oliver instructed. "Do you think you can find your way back there okay?"

_**Diggle's POV**_

"Yeah, might make a few wrong turnings but I can find it again from high ground if I have to." Diggle had paid close attention to all the identifying rock formations Oliver had shown him on the way knowing how important it was for him to be able to navigate the Island on his own too. He wasn't keen on the idea of leaving Oliver on his own but knew that Oliver's expertise on the Island was far superior to his own.

They made their way to one of the camouflage areas that Oliver 'felt' was empty and Diggle hunkered down there. _Still don't get this airflow thing. _He kept a watch on as much of the surrounding area as he could whilst Oliver made his way forward toward Fyres' tent, arrow nocked in readiness.

_**Oliver's POV**_

Oliver still felt that something was wrong, there was something off here even if he couldn't figure out exactly what it was yet. He was annoyed with himself for that, even though the area had changed and the forest now came further into camp Oliver felt he should still be able to identify whatever it was that had the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

The wind changed just as he was opening the tent flap and Oliver caught a whiff of Slade's own scent. _He's here, _Oliver registered a half second before the Australian came into view.

"Wondered how long it was going to take you kid. So you used that other vantage point after all. Told you it wasn't as good." Slade smirked as he spoke.

Slade had the body armour on but not the mask, letting his face be on full view and Oliver knew that was so that he could see the smirks, see Slade mocking him. This bow was not powerful enough to use in a straight fight with Slade, he could break its wood in a heartbeat. Oliver was unsure if Slade would ever actually do that – the fact that he had kept her bow safe all this time spoke to how much Slade valued it, but Oliver wasn't prepared to take that risk. He wouldn't be able to shoot him from here either without Slade catching the arrow it was too close. _Slade will see my fingers release._

Oliver stayed silent, waiting Slade out. Patience had never been his strong suit even before the Mirakuru and Oliver wasn't going to do anything without knowing what Slade had planned this time unless he had to. Regardless, he knew this wouldn't end well and wondered abstractly how many more scars he was going to end up with this time. _Should have brought a bigger sewing kit Felicity._

"So how'd they take it?" Slade queried indicating the Hood. "Being lied to by you for so long. Is the lovely Laurel still speaking to you? Couldn't lie you way out of it this time kid." Slade finished with a twisted grin.

"Better than you expected." Oliver said, refusing to expand on that. He knew the more information he gave Slade the more potential ammunition the man would have. There was also no real way to tell how he would take anything Oliver said and Oliver knew how the Mirakuru warped Slade's comprehension of whatever he heard. Saying more than the minimum was too risky.

"Well we'll just have to see what they say when they see how much they can be hurt by being around you – starting with your friend here. Let's see just how long he sticks around once he has matching scars." Slade's voice was ominous and the threat it contained was worrying.

Oliver whipped his head around following Slade's eye-line, only to see Diggle being brought in, hands restrained behind his back and with a gun at the base of his skull.

_**Diggle's POV**_

"Sorry man." Diggle said before going quiet as he saw the slight movement of Oliver's eyes indicating the need to stay quiet. He was furious at himself for having been captured, but knew that truthfully there was little if anything he could have done to have avoided it. They had just been too fast and he was outnumbered too greatly. Diggle knew that to have continued fighting would only have resulted in incurring injuries beyond the bruising he'd just received – bad injuries that may have made it impossible for him to help Oliver.

Diggle had heard Slade's threatening promise as he was brought in and was more worried by it than he wanted to admit. He knew there was no line that Slade wasn't willing to cross, the things that Oliver had revealed, that he had seen himself proved that. Oliver was disarmed and then tied up too by Slade and, although Diggle couldn't see what restraints had been used, he was sure that Slade wouldn't make a mistake like using zip ties that Oliver could break.

Diggle knew that whatever happened next it wasn't going to be good. He was determined that Slade wasn't going to succeed though – no matter what happened he was not going to turn his back on Oliver! Diggle recalled Oliver telling him about Slade's former partner Billy Wintergreen and how Slade had insisted that everybody was only out for themselves in this life. _If that's what Slade thought even before the Mirakuru, how much more must he be convinced of it now?!_

Diggle saw Slade getting out a wicked looking blade and realized that his plan was to inflict enough damage to force Diggle to turn his back on Oliver – just as Billy Wintergreen had to him. Slade was clearly prepared to do whatever it took to make Diggle betray Oliver in order to make the pain stop. He remembered now Oliver saying that he'd found out from Slade that Billy had been the one to torture Oliver for Yao Fei's location, giving him those knife scars on his chest.

_Damn! _Diggle thought as his brain caught up with Slade's plan. _That's what he meant by matching scars. _Slade was going to do to him what Billy had to Oliver.

Diggle focused on Oliver, trying desperately to show with his eyes that he understood, that he knew what Slade was going to do – and that it was _not _Oliver's fault. He needed Oliver to know that he didn't blame him for any of this. _If Oliver was able to survive this back when he was first here then so can I! _Diggle told himself determinedly. He slowed his breathing and in turn his heart-rate knowing that it would slow his circulation slightly helping to reduce his inevitable blood loss. Diggle was thankful for the training his time in the Special Forces had afforded him, he had some understanding of how to deal with pain and torture. _Unlike when Oliver first went through this!_

All this flashed through Diggle's mind in a few seconds as Slade walked up to him and used the knife to slit his shirt in two. Diggle kept his focus firmly on Oliver refusing to even acknowledge Slade as the knife trailed over his chest, pressing in with the point just barely enough to break the skin. He was therefore taken by surprise when Slade suddenly whirled on his heel and stabbed Oliver instead.

Oliver let out the beginning of a scream before clamping down on it and it was clear that he hadn't been expecting that right then either. Slade had stabbed Oliver in the same location as one of the scars from Billy and Diggle was certain that was intentional.

"Before we let your friend here know what this feels like though it's time to refresh your own memory kid." Slade laughed as he pulled the knife out before using it to split open what was left of Oliver's shirt too.

Diggle kept his eyes fixed on Oliver's knowing that Oliver was using that focus to keep his mind off his own pain. Slade drew the blade across Oliver's torso again mimicking the injuries originally inflicted by Billy, before turning and cutting the same line on Diggle's torso too. This time Diggle had seen Slade begin to turn but, even so, he was unable to hold back his own scream as fire flared in the path of the knife. How Oliver had bared this with no more than a low moan was beyond him – let alone been able to cut off that scream. Even as Diggle fought to get his own pain under control he felt his respect for Oliver grow even greater than before.

_Slade might think he's going to drive a wedge between us by doing this but he's wrong! All he's doing is creating the bond of a shared adversity and experience. _Diggle had never put more effort into communicating without words and he really hoped that Oliver would still be able to read his mind through the pain. _If it feels like this to me then how much more pain must Oliver be in? _Diggle wondered as Slade turned back to Oliver, inflicting more damage.

After every two or three wounds to Oliver Slade turned again duplicating the last wound on Diggle. All the while Slade was talking, taunting Oliver, telling him that all this was _his fault_, telling Diggle that he was going through this because of Oliver, that Oliver was responsible for the Shado's death - and that soon enough Oliver would be responsible for Diggle's death too.

Slade continued with this for a few more rounds before stopping and putting down the knife. Diggle's glimmer of relief quickly turned to horror as Slade proceeded to pick up a pistol in it's place.

"You made me have to put up with you digging a bullet out of my arm when I got shot because you couldn't do your job properly. Now it's your turn." Slade growled out in his Australian drawl, his voice full of venom, as he shot Oliver in the arm.

Diggle was relieved to see that Oliver's left arm that was shot, knowing that it would affect his archery skills the least. That surprised him though as Oliver had told him about Slade being shot because of him. _Thought Oliver said that Slade was shot in the right arm? Has Slade's memory been affected by the Mirakuru too, or did he change which arm for a reason – and if so, what? _Diggle knew they would have to think about that later.

Despite Slade's behaviour and threats Diggle didn't believe that he intended for either of them to die today. Slade wanted Oliver to truly suffer, had refused to kill him all along because of that so he wasn't likely to change that now. Diggle had been hurt less than Oliver so if Slade didn't want Oliver to die then Diggle's injuries wouldn't be enough to kill him either. Equally he knew that Slade intended to drive Oliver and him apart, to break up their Team. _Why bother to try to drive a wedge between us if he's only going to kill us. Slade's brain might be warped but all of his actions to date have had some – admittedly very twisted – logic and plan to them. _Diggle just couldn't see that changing all of a sudden.

Oliver's focus was starting to slip just a fraction and Diggle knew that the blood loss and pain were beginning to get to the younger man. He had been assessing the situation looking for possible weaknesses and escape opportunities from the beginning – just as he knew Oliver would have been doing too – but still he had nothing. _Not sure exactly how we're going to get out of this._

Just as he thought that however, Diggle felt a heavy blow to the back of his head and the world quickly went dark.

Diggle came to to find himself lying on the ground still in Fyres' tent and Oliver was on the ground nearby. He looked around quickly and saw that Slade and his Mirakuru enhanced goons were gone. It appeared to be only him and Oliver still here – and they were no longer restrained or tied up. Oliver was still out cold much to Diggle's concerned surprise – Oliver always regained consciousness before anyone else. _Just how much blood loss has he sustained to still be out cold – and was he knocked out at the same time as me for the matter?_

Oliver groaned then, starting to come round much to Diggle's relief. He called the younger man's name, being careful as always to keep a safe distance away – something that was even more important after everything that had just happened Diggle knew. He was wary of what Slade had planned next. _Does he mean to just let us go for now, intending to see how much damage has been done to my friendship with Oliver (none!) - or is there something waiting the second we step outside the tent?_

* * *

**AN2: Hope you all enjoyed this longer chapter which I've done to make up for the shorter last one. Please do let me know what you all think - thank you so much! I look forward to reading your reviews pretty please - no flames though, thanks!**


	14. Escape

**Chapter 14 – Escape**

**AN: Thank you all so much for continuing to support with follows, favs, and reviews, you are all brilliant! To those guests & with PMs disabled so I can't thank you personally, please take this as my very grateful thank you to you all!**

**Rennie thanks loads for fitting this beta into your currently super busy life - you're a star! All mistakes are still mine though :)**

**Disclaimer: Same as ever guys, you know it - I own nothing.**

* * *

_Oliver groaned then, starting to come round much to Diggle's relief. He called the younger man's name, being careful as always to keep a safe distance away – something that was even more important after everything that had just happened Diggle knew. He was wary of what Slade had planned he mean to just let us go for now, intending to see how much damage has been done to my friendship with Oliver (none!) - or is there something waiting the second we step outside the tent?_

_**Mixed POV**_

Oliver opened his eyes very, very slightly, being careful not to reveal the fact that he was fully conscious just yet. Every part of him was on edge, on high alert, trying to sense what dangers he was surrounded by. He was in a lot of pain and remembered the capture and torture by Slade. Oliver could sense that there was one other person nearby and just hoped that it was Diggle. He remembered seeing a movement right behind Diggle milliseconds before being hit on the back of the head and knocked out himself.

Oliver was surprised to note that he was no longer restrained or tied up, but was merely lying on the ground. He was unable to sense anyone other than that one person and now he could hear some moans that he recognized as coming from Diggle. He opened his eyes properly, relieved to hear Diggle's voice and see that he had been right, there was nobody else still in the tent.

"Oliver, you okay man?" Diggle queried.

Diggle put his hand up to the back of his head and wasn't surprised to find it came away sticky with blood. Thankfully the bleeding had all but stopped and Diggle knew it wasn't an injury that he needed to particularly worry about right now. He was far more concerned about Oliver and now that the younger man was responding Diggle went closer intending to help him up.

He stumbled on his first attempt to get up and Diggle realized that although there was still no need to worry, he had been hit harder than he'd initially thought. Moving had started off a throbbing and he knew that he was going to have one heck of a headache. In of itself that was nothing of course, but Diggle knew that was the kind of thing that could reduce awareness and slow reaction times – which in this situation would definitely be considered dangerous.

"Yeah. You? Is Slade still here do you know?" Oliver asked, his voice just as quiet as Diggle's had been.

Until they knew otherwise they would operate on the assumption that Slade and his goons were still nearby and could be listening. Oliver wasn't going to risk saying anything that could potentially help him. He knew it was likely that Slade was aware of the location of the rest of the group, and that hiding from him on the Island was impossible, but there was no point in making things easier for him either.

"I'm okay, don't worry about me. I don't know about Slade, I only came round a minute before you." Diggle responded as he helped Oliver to his feet.

Oliver hissed in pain as he had used his left arm for balance as he got up. The bullet wound was still bleeding although it had slowed now and Oliver knew there was a high risk of it getting infected just as Slade's had done. When Slade had left the Island they had been out of Yao Fei's herbs and had been unable to find where they grew. Since then however, Oliver had finally found their location so he would be able to use them to combat any infection at least - _as long as Slade hasn't found them now too._

Oliver tore a strip of cloth from the remnants of his shirt and Diggle used it to bind his arm. It was a long way from sterile and the bullet would still need removing, but it would do for now. That done, both made their way carefully to the tent flap. Oliver held up his hand to Diggle indicating for him to hold position as he very carefully looked outside. He couldn't see anything, but was all too aware of how little that meant in this of all places. That was another reason they had never wanted to camp here, there were too many routes of approach and too many places to hide to be able to cover them all. The amount of times he and Slade had infiltrated the camp themselves proved that, _even managed to do it myself before I had any training._

He crept outside staying low to the ground keeping himself as small a target as possible as he continued to operate on the assumption that Slade had not left. He looked around carefully as he crept using all his senses to the best of his abilities, but despite that he was unable to sense anyone else in the vicinity. He edged further away from the tent, Diggle staying put as ordered, but there was still nobody he could see or sense.

As he got further away Oliver noticed a small piece of paper fixed to the ground with an arrow. The paper was yellow and he knew instantly it was another one of Slade's notes. Oliver went back inside the tent and updated Diggle on the note and the lack of anybody around – that he could see or sense anyway. They agreed that Oliver would go for the note while Diggle kept watch from the entrance to the tent. Both were aware that it could easily be a trap, but even if it wasn't it was clear that Slade was still playing mind games, making them second guess everything they did and every move they made.

Oliver was also worried about where the bow was. Slade had taken it from him when they were captured but it had disappeared whilst they were knocked out. Slade had known he would be worried about the bow and Oliver recognized Slade was trying to further distract him and get him off his guard. Oliver made it to the note, still unable to see any signs of anybody else. As he'd known it would be, the note was from Slade.

_'You are responsible for your partner's pain. You are the reason he is injured now. You may have got them to accept that you are the Arrow and believe all your lies about trying to help protect people – but will they be as understanding once they see how badly they can be hurt by being around you?! You couldn't protect Mr __Diggle. You couldn't save your friend Tommy. You are the reason __**she **__is dead - and you will be the cause of their deaths too if they don't abandon you first.'_

Oliver passed it to Diggle knowing that Slade was right. Diggle _had _been hurt because of him. He _had _failed to save Tommy, even if he no longer blamed himself for the deaths of the other 502 people – _Merlyn caused their deaths, not me_. But he _had _also failed to save Shado – and if they couldn't find a way out of this he could very well end up being responsible for the deaths of the rest of his family and friends.

"He's playing games with you man." Diggle advised, knowing straight away what would be going through Oliver's head. "You aren't responsible for this, you didn't choose for any of it to happen. You didn't kill Shado Oliver and you didn't ask for us to be stranded here again. You didn't ask for us to be captured – and you certainly didn't ask to be tortured back then or for us to be tortured now either."

No matter what he said though Diggle knew it would not be enough. It was going to take far more than his words to convince Oliver that he was not responsible for Slade's actions. He just hoped that they would be able to get through to him – and Diggle knew it would take Felicity for them to have any chance. When Oliver got too depressed or caught up in self-blame she was the only one who could ever reach him and draw him back out of himself. Thea had been able to reach him before too, to a lesser extent. _Maybe the two of the together will finally be able to fully get through to him this time. _Diggle hoped, knowing that they would need Oliver completely with them for any of them to have a chance of surviving and escaping this damned Island.

Oliver and Diggle checked out the rest of the camp but it was slow going as both of them were weak from their injuries and Oliver, in particular**, **had lost quite a bit of blood too. Oliver knew that they would need to head back to the cave very soon if they were to make it back before they lost the light. Sara and the others would soon be getting worried too as they were expecting them to be back around now. However, both men knew that they needed to check the whole compound out before they could leave otherwise they would only have to come back – something that neither man wanted to do.

They searched methodically knowing that this was not something they could rush, they needed to be thorough and cautious at the same time. Oliver and Diggle made it to the remnants of the bamboo cages last of all, Oliver stopping as the cages came into view. Diggle stopped too as he saw what Oliver had already seen. Shado's bow. Along with the quiver it had been left inside the only cage that was still vaguely in one piece. Just like with the note, it had been left in an exposed position. _More mind games. _Diggle realized.

Oliver looked at Diggle knowing what he was thinking and nodded in agreement. The Slade he had known, had called brother before the Mirakuru, had always hated mind games – so this penchant he had for them now only served to make it easier to remind himself it was not the same man. The Slade Oliver had known was gone, leaving this stranger in his place, and Oliver grieved for the loss of his friend even as he fought to kill the man who now wore his face. Oliver took a calming breath, blocking out his increasing pain levels as he fought to hold on to the adrenaline that had sustained him this far. He nodded to Diggle indicating his readiness as he slowly approached the caged bow.

With barely a second to spare Oliver suddenly sidestepped narrowly missing being caught in a rope net that whisked up into the trees – just like the one that Yao Fei has rescued him from early on before being caught himself. Strangely enough, Oliver was reassured by this. Just being knocked out and then untied had been too easy and Oliver was suspicious of whatever plans Slade had. So to see evidence of a trap at least meant that they had a hint of what Slade was planning and it showed they had been right to expect traps and tread carefully. Oliver glanced at the older man and it was clear to see that similar thoughts were going through his head too.

Oliver made a second attempt at reaching the bow, ever vigilant for more trip wires or pressure sensors. Consequently he saw the sensor that had been hidden under the bow, but only just barely in time as he had already started to pick it up. He leapt as fast as he could keeping tight hold of the bow and quiver strap in one hand as he stretched his other arm out toward Diggle. Diggle managed to grab hold of Oliver just as the ground disappeared beneath Oliver revealing a slick sided deep hole that it would have been very hard to get back up out of, especially with their injuries.

Diggle pulled Oliver to safety, glad that Oliver had managed to avoid further injury or being trapped again; and at the same time he had thankfully managed to recover the bow.

"That was a close one!" Diggle panted as he fought to regain his breath.

"Yeah. Thanks." Oliver agreed breathing hard himself.

"You're bleeding again." Diggle observed indicating Oliver's arm.

Oliver checked it briefly before letting Diggle retie the makeshift dressing that had come loose while retrieving the bow. Once that was done they left the camp, heading back toward the cave. Both men were relieved when the camp was far enough behind them to be out of sight – and more relieved than they would admit that they hadn't come across any further traps.

Diggle made a few abortive attempts at getting Oliver to talk, but the younger man was too deep in his feelings of guilt for Diggle to be able to get through to him. _Definitely going to need Felicity's help, _he acknowledged to himself. He was worried about how the others – the non Team Members – would react to what had happened. Oliver was on edge and feeling bad enough as it was and Diggle knew that it would only take a few wrong words to do a _lot _of damage. _Just hope they're all still too __scared of Felicity and Sara to risk saying anything! _Diggle hoped fervently.

It was even slower going on the way back to the cave as Oliver and Diggle were getting weaker and Diggle especially stumbled several times. The light was just starting to go and the long shadows made it hard to see their footing. If Oliver hadn't known the Island so well they would have been in real trouble Diggle suspected. They were exhausted and leaning on each other as they struggled to stay upright; so although they could have made it the last stretch if they had to, Oliver decided to take the help that he knew would be waiting for them.

Finally, they made it close enough to the cave to be within Sara's hearing and Oliver called Sara'a name. He was careful to moderate his tone so that she would know help was needed, but at the same time know there wasn't any imminent danger.

* * *

**AN2: Please do continue to follow, fav, and review to let me know what you all think - I love reading all your comments :) Thank you very much!**

**Polite request - please don't put any spoilers in reviews, I am in the UK and we are several episodes behind the US, plus our episodes air on a Thursday not a Wednesday. Thank you!**


	15. Blame

**Chapter 15 – Blame**

**AN: As ever I thank each & every one of you who has been kind enough to follow, fav, and/or review! Hope you all enjoy this chapter :)**

**Extra Special Thanks go to those of you who stood by me last night & supported me when I was upset by that bad review. You know who you are & I want you to know how much your support & encouragement means to me! I've updated extra fast for you & this chapter is dedicated to you!**

**Thanks loads Rennie75 for the incredibly fast beta turnaround for me so that I could update this fast again - I'd be lost without you cariad! **

**Disclaimer: Same as ever guys, you know it - I own nothing except my own mistakes**

* * *

_Finally, they made it close enough to the cave to be within Sara's hearing and Oliver called Sara's name. He was careful to moderate his tone so that she would know help was needed, but at the same time know there wasn't any imminent danger._

_**Mixed POV**_

Roy and Sara came into view less than a minute after he had called out and Oliver was pleased to see that both of them were armed with one of the bamboo batons. He knew Sara would have the knife on her too, even if he couldn't see it.

"Roy." Sara said instantly, instructing him to help them without needing words.

Roy ran to Oliver and Diggle and putting one arm of each man around his shoulders he took their weight helping them the rest of the way to the cave. He was shocked at the state both men were in and knew straight away that Slade had got to them. He could feel his anger pulsing through him at what Slade had done, but worked as hard as he could at pushing it down, knowing that to let go right now would scare Thea and she was about to be scared enough once she saw her brother and Diggle. _For Thea, keep hold for Thea. _Roy didn't ask any questions, knowing that they would tell him what they needed to when they were ready.

Roy had finally come to understand that you could not push Oliver for answers that he wasn't ready to give. Since having to keep his own secrets from Thea, and having been caught up with helping Slade before getting his head straight again, he was better able to understand the toll that guilt and secrets took on you. Roy knew that Oliver had far more secrets and guilt than he'd even know, so if his own took the kind of toll they did he couldn't begin to comprehend the toll that Oliver's must take.

As they got closer to the cave Lance and Walter rushed out too, ready to help. They were surprised to see that Roy seemed to be more than capable of helping both Oliver _and _Diggle on his own, even though he was the smallest of the three men. Lance looked to Sara, about to query this, but she spoke first.

"Not now Dad." The order was clear in her voice and neither Lance nor Walter questioned further.

Both the older men were appalled at the state that Oliver and Diggle were in and they were amazed that either had made it as far as they had in their respective conditions. The rest of the group came out from the cave as well, hearing the return that they had all been worried about, despite the attempts of the Team Arrow members to reassure the others. (Sara had ordered them all into the cave the minute she heard people approaching the cave, not prepared to take a chance just in case it hadn't been Oliver and Diggle, or they hadn't been alone.) There was a babble of comments and exclamations once the others saw the state that Oliver and Diggle were in, especially as they got close enough to the fire for the injuries to be fully seen.

"Oh my gosh, what the hell happened to you two?!" Thea was distraught at the sight of her brother, of them both and she felt sickened by what she could see.

"Oliver! John!" Felicity's voice was full of concern and fear for her friends. _He got to them again how are they going to cope with this how bad are their injuries do we have enough medical supplies I'm going to run out of thread should have picked up a bigger sewing kit what are we going to do for dressings? _Felicity took a few deep steadying breaths as Oliver had taught her, knowing that if she didn't manage to clamp down on her babbling thoughts she was going to say things she didn't want them to hear. _Team Arrow might be used to my babbling, but the rest of them definitely aren't!_

"Are you guys okay?" Roy asked quietly. He didn't trust himself to say any more than that and was glad that his hands were full with half-carrying both men so that he couldn't start to lashout. He knew that sooner or later he was going to have to go hit something, hard, to take care of that rage without causing anyone harm.

"Ollie!" Laurel shrieked, scared. She was freaked out by what she could see, even in this poor light. _What the hell has happened now?_

"Damn!" Lance said, not knowing how to continue. _Is there no end to the amount of abuse Oliver can take and yet keep going? Or Diggle either, for that matter._

"Son, what happened?" Walter exclaimed, he couldn't believe that both men were still ambulatory with the amount of injuries they had, Oliver in particular. _How on earth did they make it back here?_

"Oliver! Mr Diggle?" Moira was as distraught and scared as her daughter.

Neither Oliver not Diggle were paying attention enough to the speakers to bother to answer them individually and only registered abstractly who was speaking. Oliver was fed up with being inundated with questions yet again so simply gave a one word answer.

"Slade."

Sara could see that neither man had the energy to waste on answering questions and took charge. She had known straight away that it was Slade and had stayed silent as she knew from past experience there was nothing really to be said.

"Moira boil some water clear some space we need to be able to lay them both down. Laurel we need some strips of cloth, see what you can find. Felicity we're going to need that sewing kit again. Does anybody have any tweezers? Walter build the fire up a bit more, we're going to need what light we can get." Sara's orders where acted on immediately, they all wanted to do what they could to help and needed the reassurance of being able to _do _something, anything to help.

Lance was already helping Roy by holding onto Oliver while Roy laid Diggle down in the area Thea was clearing. _Man, Oliver is heavy! How on earth did Roy manage to help both him _and _Diggle at the same time?_

"Here Sara." Laurel said, passing her sister a pair of tweezers, not completely sure she wanted to know what they were going to be used for.

"Thanks. Dad, I need you to sterilize these in the fire please." Sara had noted the bound wound on Oliver's arm and was assuming it was a bullet wound, going on her memories of events that Oliver had told her about.

Very soon everything was done as Sara had instructed. Felicity had made a start with cleaning up what injuries she could while the water was boiling for Sara to do a proper job. Once she had cleared away some of the blood Felicity recognized the pattern of injuries on both of them. She met Sara's eyes and the blonds nodded slightly to each other, each understanding what had happened and the mind games that Slade was playing.

_No wonder Oliver looks so far away, _Felicity sighed. The second she had seen him she'd seen that his mask was right up again. She knew she was going to have her work cut out to get through to him again, but that would have to wait until they had dealt with all the injuries.

Roy passed a bottle of water to Oliver and Diggle, it was the last of the bottled water but he knew that they would be dehydrated by the blood loss and so it was important to give it to them. The rest of them could wait until more water had collected.

"Thanks man." Diggle said quietly. After having a few sips he passed the water back to Oliver and lay back down resting, glad to be able to catch his breath without having to _do _anything else for now. He knew that the Team would be watching out for them and he could see that even now Roy had gone back to standing guard.

"Thanks Roy." Oliver echoed sitting up "Felicity I'm fine, help Diggle."

"Fine? Ollie I love you but your definition of fine is seriously twisted!" Thea said despairing of her brother. At the same time though she was relieved slightly. _If he's still making out he's okay and trying to dismiss help then maybe it isn't quite as bad as it looks..?_

"So I keep being told Speedy." Oliver replied with a hint of a laugh. "Pass those tweezers Sara, I'll deal with this while you start stitching up Diggle." As he spoke he unwound the makeshift bandage from his arm revealing the bullet wound to them all.

Thea blanched visibly as did Laurel, while Lance and Walter both clearly paled, and Moira looked green and shocked. Even Felicity looked unimpressed at Oliver's intention to deal with the wound himself, despite the fact that he knew she'd seen him do it before on more than one occasion. Oliver couldn't see Roy's face as he was looking out of the cave keeping watch still.

"Oliver I can do that while Sara helps Digg." Felicity offered, consciously ignoring the looks of surprise from the non-Team members. Even though she was unsure of her ability to actually do it there was no way she was going to let him remove the bullet on his own without at least offering to help him.

"Thank you Felicity but you know I can do this easily enough. It's hardly the first time you've seen me remove a bullet." Oliver smiled softly as he spoke, reassuring her.

Sara handed over the tweezers before putting the tin with the boiled water between them and laying the scraps of fabric Laurel had torn off various items of clothing on one of the blankets. Sara was relieved that there had been a camping tin left inside one of the kit bags, it had certainly made it easier to boil the water.

Felicity put the sewing kit down too, having threaded two needles ready for them to use. She moved the others back out of the way, giving Sara and Oliver space to work and making sure that no-one was blocking what light the fire was giving off.

Sara set to work on Diggle as Oliver twisted to get as much light as he could onto his arm before starting to dig out the bullet, both ignoring the reactions from the non-Team members.

"Just how many times have you been shot?" Walter asked disbelievingly as he watched Oliver work. It was evident that Oliver knew exactly what he was doing and he had clearly done this no few times before.

"A lot, I've lost count of the exact number." Oliver said, before stopping and looking up as he heard the sound of gagging.

Thea was holding her hand over her mouth trying desperately not to be sick and Oliver was pleased to see Felicity had her arm round his sister and was looking after her. He was surprised to see that his Mom wasn't comforting Thea as well though; and he looked over to see his Mom looking sick and guilty and he realized what she'd just remembered.

"I shot you. I shot my own son." Moira spoke quietly and the disgust and guilt at what she had done was more than evident in her voice and whole facial and body language.

"What?!" Thea yelped, echoed by Laurel.

"No, you shot the Vigilante, Mom, you didn't know it was me – and I'm sorry I put you in that position, but I had to try to find out what you knew." Oliver answered going back to removing the bullet and avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

"You lost a lot of blood that night." Lance commented, remembering the scene he'd attended.

"Yeah, it was a good thing Felicity hadn't left QC yet that night, she saved me." Oliver responded.

"Felicity saved you?" Thea repeated questioningly, before looking at the blond with an expression of even greater thanks on her face. _Was there no limit to the amount of times Felicity has been there for my brother?_

Oliver didn't answer, struggling somewhat with the bullet that seemed to be stuck. He swore under his breath as he lost his grip on the bullet again. The tweezers were too small to be able to grasp the bullet properly and it was making it hard going, especially as the more he was struggling the more it was bleeding. Oliver stopped momentarily for another few sips of water, knowing that with the blood loss he needed to be careful to not get dehydrated.

"I found him bleeding out in the back seat of my car when I left QC, he was still dressed as the Arrow but quickly revealed his identity before insisting I drove him to Diggle at ..." Felicity's voice tailed off as she realized she had been about to reveal where the lair was. The others still didn't know that and she didn't want to give them that information without the agreement of the Team.

Diggle looked at Oliver who had set back to work on the bullet. Oliver paused and nodded briefly before rinsing the tweezers in the water and continuing again.

"Felicity brought Oliver to me in our lair ... at Verdant." Diggle expanded for Felicity.

"Verdant, the club, _my _club." Thea said and it was hard to tell if she was angry or annoyed, or what it was the teen was feeling. Thea wasn't sure that she knew herself if she was honest. "So that's why you guys kept appearing and disappearing there all the time!"

"To be fair it was still _my _club then Speedy." Oliver replied, amused at her reaction and glad it had taken the attention away from his Mom, at least for now. _Feels like all we do lately is distract attention from one of them to another, _he thought abstractly.

Oliver groaned as he finally got the bullet out, dropping it on the ground before grabbing the wet handkerchief Felicity was holding out. The wound was bleeding a lot more again now after all that and after cleaning the wound as best he could Oliver put pressure on it, hissing as he did so. After a minute or so he removed the handkerchief and proceeded to sew it up as fast as possible. Oliver asked Felicity to bind it tightly with a few of the strips of fabric so that there was still pressure on it to help stop the bleeding. He looked up to see both Thea and Laurel were dry-heaving. He quirked an eyebrow at Felicity questioningly.

"Oliver not everybody is used to the sight of you sewing yourself up." Felicity replied pointedly to his unspoken question.

Laurel opened her mouth to say something in response to that, but took one look at the warning glare Felicity was sending her way before closing her mouth again without saying a word.

"Why are some of your wounds the same?" Thea spoke instead of Laurel as she tried to distract herself from the somersaults her stomach was still turning.

_Damn, why's she gotta be as observant as her brother?! _Diggle thought as Thea had asked the one question he had hoped they would be able to avoid. He sat up and thanked Sara quietly as she had finished now, before responding to Thea.

"Because Slade likes to play mind games Thea. He's trying to make Oliver feel guilty..." Before Diggle could finish Felicity interrupted him.

"Even though there is absolutely no way that Oliver is to blame for Slade's twisted actions. Oliver didn't choose what Slade has done to them anymore than he chose what scars he had in the first place. Slade is trying to distract and confuse us and like Diggle said he's trying to make Oliver blame himself for the fact that Diggle will now have some of the same scars, despite the fact that this was nothing to do with him – and anyone who can't see that is a fool." She finished angrily, the threat clear in her voice. There was no way she was going to permit anyone to say anything that would make Oliver feel any worse than he clearly already did.

"It's okay Felicity, Thea didn't mean anything by it." Oliver said with a slight smile at the look of fear on his sister's face at having accidentally crossed Felicity again. "She's right though, Slade did want us to have matching scars. It's his way of reminding me that I am the reason we are here, that Digg is hurt now too because of me. I'm the one Slade has a problem with Felicity, no matter how much you may wish that wasn't true it is. You've known for a long time that being around me is dangerous..." Oliver looked up addressing the rest of the group now. "...and now you can see how dangerous it is too. People who know who I am get hurt, that's why I lied for so long. I was trying to protect you all. I'm just sorry I failed." Oliver looked down as he finished, unwilling to see the accusing looks he was sure would be in their eyes now that they knew _why _Diggle had been hurt.

"Now you listen to me Oliver..." Lance spoke up, determined to make the young man see the truth. "...Felicity Smoak is right and you know it. You never asked to be tortured, you didn't ask for any of this or for your scars. You didn't choose any of what happened to you once that damned storm hit the Queen's Gambit. Yet despite that, despite the lies you had to live and crap you had to put up with, you spent the past two years putting your life on the line for the rest of this city and for all of us."

"You've rescued almost every person in this cave on more than one occasion regardless of the physical and emotional toll it's taken on you. I've seen how badly you've been injured even if I didn't know it was you at the time, I've seen the blood left behind, and yet you kept going, always. You never once stopped to think of yourself or put yourself first, you just continued to be the man our city needs irrespective of the damage it did to you, the man under the hood."

* * *

**AN2: Please do let me know what you think of this, I really appreciate your supportive reviews & constructive criticism is always welcome, flames are not. Thank you! :D**


	16. Believe

******Chapter 16 – Believe**

******AN: Rennie you are a star for such a super fast turnaround here - you have my very grateful thanks my dear!**

******Disclaimer: CW owns Arrow. I own nothing except my mistakes.**

* * *

___"You've rescued almost every person in this cave on more than one occasion regardless of the physical and emotional toll it's taken on you. I've seen how badly you've been injured even if I didn't know it was you at the time, I've seen the blood left behind, and yet you kept going, always. You never once stopped to think of yourself or put yourself first, you just continued to be the man our city needs irrespective of the damage it did to you, the man under the hood."_

**__****Third Party POV**

Oliver locked eyes with Lance surprised by his words and support, the belief Lance was showing in him. He'd known that Lance was much more of a fan of the Arrow nowadays than he had been before the Undertaking, but still he had been taken aback by what the Detective had said. He could see the sincerity in Lance's face, hear it in his voice, and knew that Lance believed what he was saying.

Oliver broke eye contact and looked around at the others. Despite Lance's sentiments, he still expected to see disgust and fear in their faces now that they knew and could actually ___see _just how dangerous it was to be around him. Yet when he looked around him, much to Oliver's confusion, there were no looks of disgust or fear of being around him. All he could see where nods of agreement, some more avid that others, but still it appeared that everybody agreed with Lance – somehow.

"I told you once before Oliver that you were not to blame for everything bad that happened in Starling City, well you're not to blame for everything bad that happens here either." Lance continued speaking in a quiet yet definite voice.

"This Slade guy is clearly sick and twisted and he has it in for you. I don't know why and I'm not asking you to tell us. That's in the past and whatever mind games he wants to play are not relevant. You have good people around you who are willing to support you. I've seen the lengths your Team _**is **_willing to go to – and whether you are willing to believe me or not, ___nobody _gets that level of support unless they've earned it." Lance finished emphatically.

"He's right Oliver." Felicity affirmed and her sentiments were echoed by Diggle, Sara – and, much to Oliver's surprise, Roy.

"Why don't you hate me?" Oliver asked quietly but clearly; he didn't understand them. ___How can they say these things, still want to be around me, when they know what happens to those who do? This is **my** fault, it's all down to me, why can't they see that?_

"You are here because of me, in danger because of me. Diggle is hurt and is going to be scarred because of me. Slade promised five years ago that he will do _whatever_ it takes to completely destroy me before he finally kills me. So no matter what you say Detective I ___am _to blame for this. I never wanted any of you to be caught up in this nightmare, to even set foot on this Island, but you are here now because of me. It is _my_ _fault_." Oliver spoke just as vehemently as Lance had, his tone heavily laced with guilt and self-blame.

"No Oliver, it's not. It's my fault if anything. I brought Ivo here, not you." Sara answered her voice heavy with her own guilt. ___It's time they know the truth. I can't let, __**won't **____let Oliver blame himself for my mistakes._

"Ivo?" Lance queried, unsure what his daughter was talking about. She had never spoken about her time 'away' beyond telling him she had ended up a part of the League of Assassins and he had known better than to push her for answers.

"Sara." Oliver said warningly.

"No Oliver. It's time they know." Sara responded, ignoring the protest and tension in Oliver's voice and his entire body language. She chose instead to focus on Felicity, knowing that she and Diggle already knew much of the truth and that the blond somehow didn't blame her either, for reasons that Sara could not understand. Sara knew that Oliver had borne the guilt of Shado's death for too long and it was time for them ___all _to know the truth. ___Maybe then they will be able to convince Oliver that Shado's death wasn't his fault, that Slade's madness and consequential actions weren't Oliver's fault either._

Sara began to talk, eschewing all details and sticking to the bare facts wherever possible. She told them of how after the storm she had floated on a piece of wreckage for days before being 'rescued' by the freighter. Of how Professor Ivo had then rescued her from the crew of the Amazo, of how she had lived there, helping him with his 'research' for over a year before they had made it through the chain of islands to Lian Yu.

Sara spoke of how she'd thought Oliver was dead until he had been captured and she'd seen him in one of the cells on the Amazo. Of her fear of Ivo finding out that they knew each other and how Oliver had lied to protect her as she'd asked - without him even knowing why. She continued talking, not holding back on her own deceptions and betrayal, letting them know how he had trusted her and howshe had tricked him into contacting Slade and Shado.

She kept talking, going all the way through to when Ivo had caught up with them after they had injected Slade with the Mirakuru, trying to save his life. She explained how they had thought Slade was dead from the Mirakuru, how Ivo and his men had captured them and had had her, Shado, and Oliver on their knees at gunpoint with their hands bound behind their backs. Sara told them how Ivo had insisted that Oliver choose – her or Shado.

"Oliver was forced to choose who lived and who died – the girlfriend he had gone on the boat with, or the one he had fallen for on the Island." Sara looked apologetically at Laurel as she referred to herself as Oliver's girlfriend; but that's what Ivo had known her as and she wasn't going to take away from the awfulness of Oliver's choice by denying that to make things easier for her sister.

"Except I couldn't make that choice." Oliver said, needing them to know how he hadn't even been able to do that for either of the women he had loved.

"___Nobody _could make that choice Oliver." Walter said emphatically.

"Which is why he didn't." Sara continued. "Instead Oliver threw himself on the ground in front of us both and told Ivo to kill him instead. He offered his life up for ours." Sara paused for emphasis, needing them to know, to understand the sacrifice that Oliver had been willing to make, had ___tried _to make.

"Only Ivo wasn't going to let Oliver do that. He said that if Oliver wouldn't choose then he would choose for him. Ivo pointed the gun at my head, was about to pull the trigger but Oliver threw himself between me and the gun. He tried to take the bullet for me." Sara let the emotion through into her voice as she spoke. She ___had _to make them understand, if they were to get through to Oliver then they had to ___know _that this was not his fault.

"Before we could move or do anything else though Ivo suddenly swung the gun the other way and shot Shado in the head." Much to her own surprise, a tear rolled down her own cheek as she recounted it for them.

"She died thinking that I chose Sara. That I loved Sara more than her. I loved Shado and I failed her." Oliver's voice broke as he finished speaking.

"Slade arrived almost immediately. He took out Ivo and dispatched the guards like it was nothing. I told him that Ivo had just suddenly done it, that we didn't know why. He should have been dead, ___was dead _we thought - but instead he was alive and he was ___so strong _and it scared me. I knew from Ivo that the Mirakuru can warp minds but we had no idea just how much back then. Together we made our escape from Ivo while he was still out cold, taking Shado's body with us."

"Slade revealed that he'd loved Shado too but had kept quiet because she had chosen me. We grieved for her together and we buried her next to her Father." Oliver said, his grief and pain for her loss still evident in his voice. "This Hood that I wear, this bow that I use, they were hers and her Father's before that. I tried to give the Hood to Slade but he insisted she would have wanted me to wear it. I wear it to honor her."

"Slade continued to train me to fight and I continued practising with the bow. It was harder without Shado, but it was for her that I did it. Slade was like a brother to me." Oliver paused, not knowing how to continue.

"We knew he was changing, we saw his rage and his strength, but didn't know what it meant." Sara picked up the story again. "We planned to take the freighter from Ivo, to escape Lian Yu like Shado would have wanted them to. But that's where things really went wrong. Everything was going to plan to start with, our distractions were working, all was going well until Slade caught up to Ivo. Ivo told Slade that Oliver had killed Shado, that it had been Oliver's choice. Ivo said that he'd pulled the trigger, but that Oliver had been the one pointing the gun. Slade went truly mad when he heard that." Sara took a breath before continuing.

"Slade went on a rampage. I escaped with the other prisoners and Oliver was right behind me. It was dark and chaotic, there were fires burning everywhere on the freighter. We jumped overboard swimming for the relative safety of the Island and it wasn't until we hit the beach that I realized Oliver wasn't still with us."

"Slade caught me as I went over the side of the freighter, pulled me back. After that things went downhill fast. He beat me and threw me in a cell. Slade had taken control of the freighter, the guards were scared of him and obeyed him. That's when Slade promised that I would not die until I had known true despair." Oliver finished.

There was silence in the cave for a few minutes as everyone tried to process what they'd heard. Even Felicity and Diggle hadn't heard the story in as much detail as that in one go, but had pieced together what they knew from the snippets they'd been told over time.

Oliver looked around still expecting to see disgust on their faces. ___There's no way they can they feel anything else but disgust now they know what I did. How I failed them – Sara, who I dragged into all this; Shado, the woman I loved; Slade, my brother – I failed them all and now because of that they are all here in this place of nightmares too. It's all my fault._

But instead of disgust he was met with looks of shock, compassion, and pity. Silent tears were rolling down the faces of Felicity, Thea, Laurel, and even his Mom; and there was a glint in Lance's eyes too. Oliver couldn't understand it, their reactions made no sense.

"So now you know. Now you know why you have all been caught up in this. It is all my fault. I failed them and I've failed you too.

"Now you listen to me Oliver!" Moira spoke up determinedly. There was no way she was going to let her son keep blaming himself. "This is ___not _your fault – and it's not yours either Sara! Neither of you asked to be shipwrecked, that was not down to you. Everything you did after that you did to survive. This Ivo might have blamed you and told Slade it was your fault Oliver but that does ___not _make it true. You weren't the one who decided that either of them had to die – and putting yourself between Sara and a bullet was incredibly brave. You did _not_ fail anyone Oliver!"

"_Survive_ - that's what you told us is the most important thing on this Island and that's what you did. Neither of you knew what the Mirakuru was going to do, you were simply trying to save the life of a man who was like a brother to you and I am truly sorry you had to go through that Oliver." Moira spoke putting her heart into her words, she _had_ to make her son believe in himself again.

"Mom's right Oliver. What came after that, you couldn't control okay big brother. You've been paying for this longer than any of us could have imagined and it's been more than long enough. It's time for you to accept that this stuff poisoned Slade's mind. The man you knew, your brother, he's gone Oliver." Thea spoke vehemently.

"They're right Ollie." Laurel spoke up, much to the surprise of all. "The Law wouldn't hold you accountable for this - and neither do we. You didn't know what that stuff was going to do, you thought it would save his life. From what you've told us there was no way that you could have predicted what would happen to Slade, no more than you could have predicted what Ivo would do." Laurel spoke quietly but her words held all the more power for that.

"I've spent more than enough time holding others accountable for things that weren't their fault instead of taking responsibility for my own actions, you reminded me of that remember Ollie?" Laurel paused, waiting for Oliver to respond before she would continue.

Oliver nodded once briefly, but Laurel knew that was all she was going to get and it was enough for her to know that he was listening to her words. "Well that's how I know that that was what Ivo was doing too, blaming others for his actions, making excuses and doing anything to get out of taking responsibility for those actions. He killed Shado, not you. In his own way Slade is doing the same thing. Instead of acknowledging his own failure to let Shado know how he felt, his imagined failure in not being there to save her when she died, he is blaming you and he has allowed his bitterness and the Mirakuru to twist him into this monster."

Felicity looked at Laurel in grateful surprise. She would never have expected Gorgeous Laurel to have said that, to have backed them up like this. For the first time she could see what (beyond her looks of course) had attracted Oliver to her so strongly. Under all that misplaced anger was a caring nature willing to stand up for what she believed was right and Felicity realized that nature must be what had drawn Laurel to work for CNRI in the first place.

"Your brother is gone Oliver, he died five years ago." Diggle said, hating to be blunt but needing Oliver to understand that the man who was now determined to destroy him was not the same one who had called Oliver brother. "It's time to stop listening to him, to Ivo, and to believe in yourself again.

* * *

**AN2: Sooo... what do you think guys? Please let me know - reviews feed the Muse tehehe :D Thank you!**


	17. Ninja Hearing

**Chapter 17 – Ninja Hearing**

**AN: I know I keep saying it but it's still so very, very true – you are all amazing for your tremendous support! Thank you so very much for all the follows, favs, & reviews! Rennie thanks as ever for all the help & beta work, means so much my friend!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by the CW – if I owned anything then we'd have Olicity by now!**

* * *

_"Your brother is gone Oliver, he died five years ago." Diggle said, hating to be blunt but needing Oliver to understand that the man who was now determined to destroy him was not the same one who had called Oliver brother. "It's time to stop listening to him, to Ivo, and to believe in yourself again._

**_Mixed POV_**

After all the revelations everyone had left Oliver and Diggle alone with Felicity so that they could start to recover. Sara had stitched up the rest of Oliver's wounds as it was hard for even Oliver to stitch up his own torso and there was no point in him struggling when she was able to do it. Once she was done she went to stand watch with Roy leaving the original Team together. The three of them had a bond that went beyond anything she'd ever seen and right now Sara knew that all three of them needed that bond more than ever.

The Team sat in silence for a time, just enjoying being together, sharing the reassurances they all needed without ever needing to speak a word. The others were standing around in twos and threes and much as Oliver didn't want to, he could hear every word they were saying – although they didn't know that of course. Oliver had expected they would turn away from him, be disgusted – and yet, they weren't. _Is Lance right, are my Mom and Laurel right? Was there really no better choice I could have mad?_

Felicity, being careful to speak softly so that the others wouldn't overhear, told Oliver that while they'd been gone she'd discovered that he needed to have a quiet word with Thea. He nodded, agreeing quietly and planning to speak to her in the morning when he was less tired. Right now he was just drained, yet somehow – even if though he didn't completely believe them yet – he had more hope than he had done before all the revelations; he just needed to rest if possible before talking with Thea. Oliver didn't need to ask Felicity why he had to talk to Thea, he knew exactly what it would be about and had been expecting this ever since his decision that morning.

Unable to sit any further despite his tiredness, Oliver slowly got to his feet and went outside. He nodded to Sara and Roy, knowing they would understand he just needed a little space. He went off far enough that he could breathe, could catch his breath again, but made sure he was still within sight and hearing of Sara just in case.

A few minutes later he heard Thea coming. She was trying to be quiet and he knew she was trying not to intrude until she got closer; and she was probably taking the time to figure out what to say as well Oliver realized. But as yet she still had no idea just how good his hearing was, for a few more minutes at least. After a couple of minutes of Thea not speaking or approaching any closer, Oliver spoke instead.

"Felicity said you might need to talk to me?" Oliver knew exactly what this was about but equally he knew it was important for Thea to find her own words, her own questions. She needed to be the one to start this the right way for her.

Thea came to face Oliver and nodded hesitating, unsure how, where, to start this conversation, especially after everything that Sara and Oliver had just revealed. But she could see that Oliver had no desire to talk about _that_ any further so she went back to her original plan of asking him about what she'd overheard that morning. There were so many things she wanted and needed to say, but she still couldn't figure out how to start, any vague plans she'd had had disappeared on hearing Sara and Oliver talking about Slade – the man Oliver had called brother, the man who was now trying to destroy him. In the end Thea just blurted out the first thing she could.

"So, you saved Slade's life?"

"You heard all of that this morning and _that's_the question you want to lead with?!" Oliver raised an eyebrow quizzically not sure whether to be amused or bemused by his sister's start.

"No, but it was the only one I could figure out how to ask." Thea replied honestly as Oliver nodded his understanding. "How do you know how much I heard anyway?" She asked curiously. _How does Oliver even know what I'm going on about yet anyway?_

"I knew you were there Speedy, I could hear you coming. I knew you were standing right there before I decided to say all of that and I knew you would hear it. Just like I know you barely made it back to the cave before you started to cry."

"But … how could you... there's no way you could have known that … how?" Thea managed to get out, confused by her brother's knowledge. _Roy hasn't had a chance to speak to him without all of us there and Felicity doesn't know I cried so how could Oliver …? Felicity said he'd know I heard though ... but how could she know that either?_

"Five years Thea, I spent five years away from you all where I literally lived or died by my senses, my awareness of the world around me and all of my surroundings." Oliver reminded her, being careful not to say that he'd spent all of that time on the Island itself.

"You saw a tiny bit of that with Sara when she heard the click of that landmine remember. Think about it, did you hear it click?" Oliver asked.

Thea thought back before realizing she had heard it, but so barely that she wouldn't have paid it any attention if she hadn't been forced to. "Yes, but only just barely and I didn't think anything of it. If Sara hadn't reacted the way she did I probably wouldn't have even registered it though if I'm really honest."

"Exactly. You were the closest to it but even you barely noticed it. There was a lot of background noise from all of us walking, people were talking, the birds were being noisy as we disturbed them, and Sara wasn't even immediately next to you was she?!" Oliver pointed out.

Thea nodded as she followed her brother's thinking and she realized he was right. Sara had been near, but not _that_near - _and yet she'd heard it even though I scarcely even noticed it myself_.

"Yet Sara not only heard it but moved fast enough to save you." Oliver continued. "That's just a small example of how good her hearing is, _our_ hearing is – and that's how I not only knew you were there this morning, but knew that you were crying at the cave. I heard you Thea. I knew you were here just now just like I knew you were right there behind us this morning when I was talking to Felicity and Diggle. I heard you coming and I heard you stop when you first overheard me, I heard your gasp Thea when you realized what I was talking about."

"Then why … ?" Thea hesitated unsure how to finish her question without it coming out wrong.

"Did I continue? Because you needed to know all that stuff. Thea, I told you two years ago that I needed to get better at talking about what happened to me. I'm still no good at it, but that doesn't mean I don't want to talk about it now. I don't like talking about it and I probably never will but that's not important. What is important is that I keep you safe, keep all of you safe. To do that you need to know more about what happened so that you can understand the dangers."

"So we all need to know that you were first tortured in that camp, that you were kept in a cage? That you've taken so many beatings there you can't even remember them all?" Thea queried, struggling to keep back the tears as she recalled his words, not fully believing her brother's reasoning and needing his verification of what he was saying.

"No. But _you_ do Thea. You're my sister and I should have told you more of this a long time ago, no matter how painful it was for me. You needed to understand me, the brother who came back, and I could have made that easier by telling you then. But I wasn't ready. I'm not sure if I ever will be ready – but I'm ready to try, and that's why I continued speaking this morning. So that _you_ would know. I only have one sister Thea – and I don't want to hide from you anymore." Oliver hoped that Thea would understand just how much of a big deal this was for him to share these things with her.

"These cuts that Slade just gave Diggle and me, they are the same as the ones I got when I refused to give up Yao Fei. Not quite as deep this time, but in the same places. The originals were given to me by Billy Wintergreen. He was Slade's partner and he was the Godfather to Slade's son - and yet he betrayed Slade for money. Slade is convinced that everyone in this life is out for themselves, he said that even before the Mirakuru Speedy and he wants to convince me of it too. That's why he gave Digg some of the same scars, he wanted to make Digg betray me to stop the pain." Oliver explained further.

"Which is never going to happen." Diggle spoke from behind Oliver and Thea, making Thea jump even as she noticed that Oliver hadn't even reacted at all. _He really has got ninja hearing._Thea turned around and saw that Diggle wasn't alone.

"Because Slade doesn't understand that we are a Team and that together Team Arrow is so much more than any of us alone." Felicity finished.

Thea saw the look on all of their faces as Felicity spoke and she realized that the blond IT girl was right. It was clear that these three were a Team, but that they were also so much more than that. _They're a family of their own choosing, tighter than any I have ever seen._As Thea thought that she suddenly understood that Felicity _was_right, it was that Team bond – that family bond – that was what made them so much stronger.

It was clear that Slade didn't understand that as he had thought that torturing Diggle and Oliver, giving them the same scars, was going to drive them apart. Instead of creating blame though as Slade had expected, and Oliver had too it seemed, all that Slade had done was to strengthen that bond between the two men, between the whole Team. For the first time since they had been captured Thea felt more than just a flicker of hope. If this Team was this strong then maybe they really could win, _maybe they really can defeat Slade_.

"But it's not just us now Speedy, it's all of you too. Slade doesn't believe that we can work together, that you will work with me now you know the truth. He believes I'm alone, that no-one will stand by me and fight with me." Oliver went on to explain.

He looked at Felicity knowing what he needed to say next, what he needed to ask his sister, but still unable to find the words and to take the risk of actually asking. To make himself that vulnerable to rejection was still so hard for him and he was still finding it hard to accept that they didn't seem to blame him for everything now that they knew more of the truth. To risk going further, to not just stand by him but to ask them to actually _fight_ with him too, Oliver simply wasn't sure he could take that risk.

"Is Slade right Thea? Is Team Arrow alone, or will you fight with us?" Felicity asked the question that Oliver couldn't, willing as ever to take the risk for him.

Thea paused, nodding as she thought. She knew her answer straight away, but she needed Oliver to know that this wasn't just a gut reaction answer but was truly a thought out answer. If she was honest she'd been thinking about this ever since the Team had rescued her from the landmine, maybe even before then. But Oliver didn't know that and he _had _to understand that she was certain of her words.

"I'm with you. I want to fight too Oliver. Show me how." Thea answered, the strength of her conviction clear in her words for all to hear as she spoke.

* * *

**AN2: You guys know the deal, I really **_**do **_**love knowing what you think so I should be very grateful if you would please follow, fav, and/or review. Thank you so much! :D**


	18. Apology

**Chapter 18 - Apology**

**AN: Nearly 400 reviews - WOW! THANK YOU ALL! **

**As I can't thank Guests & those with PM's disabled individually I want to say thank you so very much to Smoak999, Christina Delp, Britany, straightshotfan, Tina, Kat, Hope, Denise, Sequoyah, Blayze, Thunder, linbug, riza &all those who didn't leave a name – sorry if I've missed anyone!**

**I am so grateful to every single one of you who has read, followed, favd, or reviewed this fic so Thank You! Rennie – no matter how many times I say it it's still true, you are the best beta & friend ever!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by the CW – if I owned anything then we'd have Olicity by now!**

* * *

_Thea paused, nodding as she thought. She knew her answer straight away, but she needed Oliver to know that this wasn't just a gut reaction answer but was truly a thought out answer. If she was honest she'd been thinking about this ever since the Team had rescued her from the landmine, maybe even before then. But Oliver didn't know that and he had to understand that she was certain of her words._

_"I'm with you. I want to fight too Oliver. Show me how." Thea answered, the strength of her conviction clear in her words for all to hear as she spoke._

**_Oliver's POV_**

Oliver was more relieved than he had expected when he heard Thea's answer and the certainty in her voice as she spoke. He saw the hints of tension disappear from both Diggle and Felicity at her answer too and realized that they had been worried about how she would respond. Oliver nodded once to Thea before answering her.

"Thank you." Oliver's voice was full of heartfelt thanks and he allowed his relief to show as well. "You remember doing archery at school?"

**_Thea's POV_**

"Yes." Thea answered cautiously. She had always enjoyed archery, even been good at it – but that was just at school, _it wasn't serious or anything!_

"Tomorrow you will learn properly. Get some rest now, you'll need it." Oliver finished with a glint in his eye that let Thea know her brother had no intention whatsoever of going easy on her – not that she had ever expected him to. After discovering how tough Sara had been with them today however, Oliver's words had her somewhat concerned. _This is so not going to be easy!_

"Goodnight Oliver." Thea said getting the message that he wasn't up to talking with her anymore for tonight and knowing that she couldn't take any more for now either. Thea walked back to the cave, to Roy who was still on guard with Sara. Sara took one look at Thea and walked off a little way to give them at least the pretence of privacy, even though Thea now knew that Sara would still hear everything – _she probably heard every word we just said anyway._

"Thank you." Sara said almost as a whisper as she went past Thea, confirming Thea's suspicions that Sara had heard everything.

Thea gave a hint of a smile in return, acknowledging Sara's thanks, before going straight to Roy's arms. She spent a few minutes like that, just being held by him as she cried silently for her brother, for everything he had been through, for his pain and loss both in the past and today too. For the fears she now knew he had, the uncertainties, and the dangers of the world that he lived in. Roy held her saying nothing, supporting her with his silence and letting it show her that he would always be there for her, that she was not alone. Sometimes words really were not needed and Thea understood that now more than she ever had before.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**_Moira's POV_**

Moira saw her daughter come back from talking to Oliver, saw her go straight to Roy's arms and stay there shaking the slightest bit. She knew her daughter well enough to know that, hide it as she may, Thea was crying and it wasn't hard to figure out why.

_Was it really only this morning that I asked Oliver to talk when he returned from the camp? No wonder Oliver was so changed in those five years, a single day here is harder and takes more toll on you than a month at home ever could – and that's without all the things that he went through._ Moira wanted to cry her eyes out for her son - and despite everything that he and Sara had revealed this evening she knew that there was still oh so much more that they had not said.

Moira still could not forgive herself for everything that she had put her own son through, put both of them through. No matter what Oliver said she knew that it _was_her fault. If she and Robert hadn't been caught up in the Undertaking the Queen's Gambit would never have been sabotaged and all the rest would never have happened. While Moira was unbelievably proud of the man Oliver had become, the price he had paid for it was far, far too high and that was all on her now that Robert was gone.

Worse than that, she had then compounded it all by inviting Slade Wilson into their home. The man who had once been Oliver's brother, but who now wanted to utterly destroy him before killing him. Who had tortured him – with a _generator_ – and goodness knows what else in the past, who had tortured Oliver and Diggle again today. The man who had kidnapped Thea, who had kidnapped them all, marooning them here in this place of Oliver's nightmares. _Is there no end to the damage I have done to my children, to Oliver?_ Moira wondered in despair at her own actions.

"Mrs Queen."

Moira looked up at her name, surprised to see Felicity standing in front of her. She had never even noticed that she and Diggle had left Oliver's side and returned to the cave.

"Please, surely here you can call me Moira?" She asked, sick of the formalities and pretences that had only served to erect barriers between them all.

Felicity nodded her agreement much to Moira's relief. "Oliver would like to talk to you if you still want to, I said I'd let you know."

Moira was struck anew by how much Felicity clearly cared for her son. Even after the way she had treated Felicity she had still offered to come and get her so that Oliver didn't have to come back to the cave and so Diggle could rest. She suddenly perceived what her son had clearly seen all along. Felicity was an incredibly special person who stood up for those she cared for and for what was right no matter the risk to herself.

Moira was beginning to see that Felicity was the bond holding Oliver's Team together. _And I treated her like she was nothing, I threatened her._She was appalled by her own behaviour towards this woman who had saved her son's life in more ways than one. Felicity was about to walk away and Moira put her hand very gently on Felicity's arm asking her to stop.

"Felicity…" Moira hesitated, finding it hard to say this but knowing that she had to. She had wronged Felicity more that she'd known and it was time to at least attempt to put that right. "…I owe you an apology…"

"No, you don't." Felicity interrupted her, but Moira refused to be let off that easily. She wasn't about to back down from this no matter how hard it was for her to admit.

"Yes. I really do. I threatened you and wronged you when all you were doing was trying to protect my family – which is what I should have been doing myself. No, let me say this…" Moira said as she could see Felicity opening her mouth to try to stop her again. "You have saved my son, my husband, my daughter, and apparently half of the Glades, as well as many others I'm sure. You brought Oliver back to me when he was still stuck on the Island, stuck here. You made him more whole than I thought he could even be again when he first returned."

"You are truly an impressive woman and it is clear to me now that you mean more to Oliver than I could ever have imagined. If I hadn't been so caught up in everything else and had paid more attention to what was right in front of me then I would have seen that. I have no right to ask for your forgiveness for what I said and did to you and I will not ask for it, but I am apologising to you Felicity. I am truly sorry." Moira finished with a deep breath, trying to steady herself and only partially succeeding.

**_Felicity's POV_**

Felicity was taken aback at Moira's words. She had truly _never_ expected to hear this titan of a woman admit she was wrong, much less actually apologise. She was Oliver's mother after all and it was hardly as if he was good at admitting when he'd got things wrong either. Felicity appreciated the effort that had gone into Moira's words, they were far more than a simple 'I'm sorry' and she respected Moira for having done that, she knew it couldn't have been easy for her. _Even if the woman has still made some truly horrible decisions._Moira hadn't asked for forgiveness which Felicity was relieved by as she wasn't inclined to grant it yet either, but she decided that she would accept the apology for now at least.

"Accepted, thank you Moira." Felicity spoke in a neutral tone being careful to keep her voice quiet as Moira's had been. She agreed that there was no need for everyone to hear their conversation. Sara would have heard it of course – and glancing briefly at Oliver she could see that he had heard it too. That was enough for her. Moira nodded her thanks before heading outside to speak with Oliver.

* * *

**AN2: Thanks for sticking with me everyone :) Please let me know what you think, you all know how much reviews feed the Muse hehe :D**


	19. Robert

**Chapter 19 – Robert**

**AN: You guys are stunning - thank you so much for all your reviews! Rennie your help is utterly invaluable my friend, thank you so much for being the best beta ever!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by the CW – if I owned anything then we'd have Olicity by now!**

* * *

"_Accepted, thank you Moira." Felicity spoke in a neutral tone being careful to keep her voice quiet as Moira's had been. She agreed that there was no need for everyone to hear their conversation. Sara would have heard it of course – and glancing briefly at Oliver she could see that he had heard it too. That was enough for her. Moira nodded her thanks before heading outside to speak with Oliver._

**_Mixed POV_**

"What was that all about Mom?" Oliver asked being careful to moderate his tone. He had heard every word but had no intention of letting her know that. He had told Thea about his senses but did not want to let the rest of the group know about them too yet. Oliver also needed to see if he could trust his Mom, needed proof of that and finding out if she was going to tell him the truth now would help with that.

Diggle had told him about the way that she had backed him up while Oliver was having the nightmare and that counted for a lot. It also meant a lot that his Mom had actually finally apologized to Felicity, the way she had treated her had truly upset and annoyed him. However, Oliver was all too aware of the blind spot he'd had previously when it came to his family – and he had no intention of making that mistake again.

"I … said some things to Felicity previously that I shouldn't have. Nasty things and I was wrong to do so. I told myself that I was protecting my family by these keeping secrets but the truth is that I just didn't want anybody to know. It was time for me to apologise to Felicity and that's what that was about." Moira answered with a deep sigh.

She had made so many mistakes in her life especially when it came to her children and it was painful for her to admit just how much damage she had done. Despite that, Moira knew that she had to change going forward and part of that change was to own up to her errors and apologize to those she had wronged. She also knew that if Oliver was ever going to even slightly trust her again she had to prove herself worthy of that trust. It was painfully apparent now that Oliver was closer to Felicity and Diggle than he was to anyone else, they were his real family it seemed – and she had threatened the woman who clearly had Oliver's heart, even if he wouldn't admit it to himself. Moira could see now that she had hugely underestimated the blond, she was so much more than just an 'IT girl' and apparently she even owed Felicity for saving her son's life.

"Oliver, we need to talk, I need to talk. I have made so many mistakes, caused so much damage to our family – to you. I even shot you! I need to explain, but I need to understand too – if you're willing to talk?" Moira hesitated unsure how to continue. She wasn't even sure that they should be talking like this now when Oliver was badly hurt and clearly exhausted.

"I know Mom. You must have a lot of questions and I will answer what I can but I'm not going to tell you everything. There are some things I'm just not ready to talk about." Oliver was willing to try but she had to respect the boundaries he was setting first.

Moira nodded in response, still unsure of what to say and while she was thinking Oliver started to speak again.

"You know now that I'm the Arrow but I still have a lot of secrets too and I will tell you what I think you need to know but in order for me to do that, you must respect that some secrets simply aren't mine to tell." Oliver spoke bluntly needing her to know how serious he was. If she pushed then he was simply going to back away. Moira nodded again and so he continued.

"Do you remember me showing you that notebook with the list of names in it and asking about it?" Oliver asked, for him that was where it had all begun, with that damn List so it made sense that that was the place to start talking as well.

"Yes." Moira looked down when she answered, ashamed of the lie that she'd told him at the time.

"I knew what it was when I asked you. I'd known about the List for a little over 5 years at that point." Oliver said knowing that revealing that knowledge would provoke a response.

"What? How?" Moira was truly shocked. "How could you have known about it?"

"Dad told me."

"On the Gambit?" Moira queried having worked out a rough idea of when Oliver must have found out from the timescale he'd given. She was completely bemused as to how or why Robert would have told him though. _Robert knew just how dangerous that list was so why would he have brought Oliver into all that?_

"No." Oliver took a breath. He knew that what he was about to reveal would cause her no small amount of pain, but it was time she knew the truth. "After it went down."

"But you said your Father went down with the boat?"

"I lied. Back then, there was no need for you to know the truth. I didn't know that you were involved with the List and I didn't want to hurt you, to drag you into all of that. There was no need for you to know what really happened."

Hard though she found it to do so, Moira stayed quiet as Oliver spoke. She could see how tough this was on Oliver and understood that she had to let him tell this in his own way. After everything she'd done that was the least she could do for him. It didn't stop all the thoughts going round in her head though. _Robert survived? Why didn't he tell me? How on earth could that not have been something he'd want me to know about?_

"Dad pulled me out of the water into the life-raft. There was another crew member in the raft too. We couldn't find Sara or anyone else and I thought that they'd all died. We drifted for days, there wasn't enough water and Dad knew that there was no way for us all to survive." Oliver took a couple of calming breaths, it had been hard enough to tell Diggle about this, but to have to tell his Mom that her husband had killed another man before committing suicide was something else. He met his Mom's eyes and locked onto them, needing to know how she would respond to this, what she was thinking. They were far enough away from the cave that Sara would be the only one who could hear them and she already knew what had happened anyway.

"Dad apologised to me, he said he'd thought he'd have more time. I didn't know what he was going on about and just told him to rest but he didn't listen. He told me that he wasn't the man I thought he was. That our family didn't build our city – we destroyed it. He begged me to right his wrongs. He told the crewman that if anybody was going to make it out of there then it was going to be his son, me - and then he took out a gun and shot the crewman before shooting himself." Oliver could see the effect this was having on his Mom, had known what a shock it would be and that's why he hadn't wanted to tell her. But he understood now that she had a right to know, maybe she'd had that right all along, he wasn't sure. But her husband was buried here and she should know that.

Moira was shaking, tears running silently down her face and she struggled to breathe._Robert killed a man before shooting himself. He committed suicide. Oliver watched his Dad kill somebody and then kill himself. How could Robert do that? Why? Oliver had to see that!_The thoughts were going round and round her brain on overdrive and she felt like she was going to collapse. This was too much for her after everything else that they had seen and learnt that day.

Oliver could see the trouble she was having and understood what she was thinking. He knew he had to help her. "He did it to save my life. Dad was right, there wasn't enough water for all of us. There was no way that even two of us would have made it on what we had. I barely survived as it was. He gave his life to save mine Mom." Oliver put his hand on her arm gently trying to give her an anchor point as Felicity so often did for him.

Oliver raised his voice slightly knowing that his sister wasn't far off. She wouldn't have been able to hear them speaking initially and had simply been standing there waiting in case he wanted her. She knew now that he would have been aware of her presence and he was grateful to her for her thoughtfulness. However, Thea had come closer when he had first raised his voice very slightly, intending for it to carry to her, so she would have heard him say that their Dad gave his life to save Oliver's.

"Thea…" His Mom looked up suddenly as he spoke Thea's name as Oliver had known she would. He turned around to meet his sister's eyes as he continued. "…you told me that you buried an empty coffin, well I buried his body. Dad's real grave is here, on the Island."

His Mom gasped and Thea took a step back involuntarily, covering her mouth with her hands in shock as she and their Mom both started to cry. Oliver just stood there giving them the time they needed, he knew this was a big thing for them to accept and adjust to – especially for his Mom as Thea hadn't heard _how _their Dad had died, only that he had done so to save him.

Thea took some deep breaths, trying desperately to clamp down on her feelings long enough to ask the one thing she needed to know. "Where? We need to see. Will you take us to Dad's grave Oliver?"

Oliver had known that was coming, from the minute they had been taken back to the Island he had acknowledged that Thea and his Mom would both need to know that he was buried here – and that they would want to go to his grave. Oliver nodded slowly.

"Yes, but we will have to go as a group - Shado is buried there too, next to Dad so Slade may be there or could have left another trap. I will take you, but first you need to train Thea, you too Mom." Oliver finished speaking in a serious tone as he needed them to understand just how risky this could be.

* * *

**AN2: I know I keep saying it, but favs, follows, and reviews really do mean the world to me so please be nice & let me know what you think? Thank you! :D**


	20. Lessons Learned

**Chapter 20 – Lessons Learned**

**AN: Regardless of how many times I've said this I need you all to know how grateful I am to every single one of you who has followed, favd, and/or reviewed! Thank you!**

**Rennie thanks for yet another fast turnaround & for the loan below that you know about already! It was too perfect not to borrow :D Best beta ever! **

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by the CW – if I owned anything then we'd have Olicity by now!**

* * *

"_Yes, but we will have to go as a group - Shado is buried there too, next to Dad so Slade may be there or could have left another trap. I will take you, but first you need to train Thea, you too Mom." Oliver finished speaking in a serious tone as he needed them to understand just how risky this could be._

**_Mixed POV_**

After that Thea and Moira had returned to the cave together, leaving Oliver alone with his thoughts for a little while longer. Oliver had watched their return and once they had gone inside he caught Sara's face briefly.

"You okay?" Sara quietly asked, low enough that nobody else would be able to hear her.

Oliver was grateful for the way that they could both communicate without needing to be loud enough for others to overhear. It was an added bonus that he had never anticipated to their heightened senses and he replied in just as low a voice.

"Fine." He was thankful that no further explanations were needed with Sara, she never needed lengthy explanations or pushed for more from him. He knew that was because she hated giving them herself and found it harder to talk than even he did, but still he was grateful for it right now.

Oliver spent a few more minutes staring into the dark regaining his composure and internal balance and making initial plans for the next day that he would later discuss with his Team, before he finally returned to the cave.

"Get some rest Sara, I'll take the watch. Roy, will you take the next one with Diggle? He can teach you what you need to look for at the same time as you watch his back." Oliver looked to Diggle for his agreement to that and waited for his nod. Oliver was glad to see that Diggle approved of his plan and knew he understood that Oliver had been worried about Diggle's physical condition, but hadn't wanted to trust Roy to keep watch on his own without further training either.

"Sure." Roy answered quietly.

Oliver was pleased to see that Roy looked to Diggle for his agreement as well. It seemed that the young man was making more of an effort to keep control with Thea right here with him all the time. He just hoped that this would transfer over into Roy's training as well as that was when Roy was most prone to getting frustrated.

"Okay. I'll take the last watch then." Sara confirmed before going to lie down.

Oliver noticed that Sara had joined the rest of the wider Team who were all bedding down between the watch area and the rest of the group. It seemed that they were repeating the physical boundary they had created the previous night and emphasising the fact that, regardless of everything that had happened and been revealed that day, Team Arrow still had his back. Oliver realized how blessed he was to be surrounded by them, to have such loyal and supportive friends. He knew he didn't deserve them but Oliver knew that he would be sure to value them while he could.

Much to the Team's relief, that night everybody settled down without any further arguments or problems, all exhausted by the emotions and revelations of the day. Diggle was concerned again about Oliver's nightmares – and his own for that matter. He knew he'd had problems with them initially when he came back from Afghanistan but they had only lasted for a few months then. Over time since then he had had a few more of course - but they were usually when he was back home safe and not while he was in the field, he just hoped that continued to be the case. They would have enough to deal with Oliver's nightmares and whatever else Slade had in store, without his own adding to the mix.

Oliver did have a nightmare again, near the end of Diggle and Roy's watch but this time the others stayed well back, allowing Diggle and Felicity to bring him back to the present without any real arguments. Sara had immediately covered the watch, allowing Roy to go to Thea and provide the comfort she needed, while at the same time making sure he was within reach of Laurel. Laurel still seemed to be struggling to keep back and Sara knew that her sister was finding it hard to not be able to help Oliver or touch him during this time, especially as Oliver's screams and groans were getting worse.

Sara suspected that, regardless of Moira's account, Laurel still didn't fully believe how dangerous it could be to touch Oliver (or her for that matter) during a nightmare. Sara resolved to talk to Oliver about that in the morning and had a plan for how to safely deal with that and prevent it being an issue again. He wasn't going to like her idea she suspected, so Sara decided she would talk to Felicity first and gain her support. Sara knew that if Felicity agreed to it then Oliver would be left with very little choice. While she didn't want to push him into anything, Sara knew that it would cause far more problems and guilt if one of them was hurt by either Oliver or herself.

It was harder to bring Oliver round this time that it had been the previous night, he seemed to have gone deeper into the nightmare and Felicity suspected this was because of his physical wounds. She was working on the assumption that in Oliver's nightmare he would be back with Billy Wintergreen - and so having wounds that were so similar to the ones that Billy had given him would be making Oliver's nightmare all the more real. She and Diggle persisted though and, eventually, he came back to them.

As soon as Oliver woke up fully enough to realize what had happened, again, he immediately sought out Felicity's eyes, needing the reassurance of her presence. She put her hand on his arm giving him the physical contact that he needed to anchor himself back to reality. Oliver could see the tiniest glint of a tear on her cheek and knew that it must have been bad this time to have affected her like this as Felicity had become too used to his nightmares to be affected easily anymore.

Oliver looked to Diggle, trusting the older man to tell him the truth about the severity of the nightmare. Oliver didn't say anything as he knew that words were not needed, the Team's mind reading link was too strong to require words for something like this.

Diggle nodded slightly, confirming that it had been as bad as Oliver had suspected. "Fyres'?" Diggle queried in a low voice.

"Yes. Fyres' and Billy Wintergreen." Oliver said, confirming Felicity's suspicions.

She could see that he was trying to pull himself together enough to explain to the others, even though it was evident that the _last_ thing Oliver needed right now was to have to explain anything. Felicity met Oliver's eyes again, silently reminding him of her words, her promise that his past was his own. She saw the relief in his eyes, the slight lessening of tension throughout his body as he remembered and understood – she would protect him.

"Goodnight." After saying that, Oliver lay back down on his good side, facing towards the entrance and away from the others. He knew that Felicity would ensure he didn't need to say anything, explain anything else right now and again he blessed the day that Walter had given him her name. Oliver knew that Walter felt he needed to thank him for rescuing him from Merlyn's clutches, but the truth was it was Oliver who owed Walter.

Without Felicity Oliver knew that he would not still be alive, she was the one who kept him fighting, who brought him back to himself and to his Team. She was the one who made them a true Team, she was their conscience and their light. Oliver knew that Felicity was as much an anchor for Digg at times as she was for him, especially after the Suicide Squad mission with ARGUS. Felicity was the reason he fought to become better. He had given up killing for Tommy, to honor Tommy's memory; but Felicity was the one who had shown him there was another way instead – even if he had still killed the Count for her, to save her life there really was no choice to be made.

Felicity lay down closest to Oliver but careful as always to keep that safe distance away in case of further nightmares. She specifically lay with her back to him though so that she was facing the others – looking at them hard, almost glaring, as she silently dared them to say anything else. Wisely though, and despite a few looks, none of them did risk saying anything and it seemed that the lesson of 'Never get between Oliver and Felicity' had finally been learned.

Diggle smiled at the look on Felicity's face, knowing full well what she was doing and he turned away in case she took exception to his grin, he knew better than to risk her ire when she was in this mood. Instead, he caught Roy's eye only to find him doing the same thing as Diggle and they both had to smother a chuckle at their feisty IT girl. Diggle knew that Roy would be remembering when he first learnt not to come between the pair. Team Arrow might not have an official list of rules or lessons, but they definitely had them regardless and not getting between Felicity and Oliver was the biggest one of the lot.

* * *

**AN2: Okay so I 'borrowed' the lesson of 'never get between Oliver and Felicity from my wonderful beta Rennie75's fic of Lessons Learned, please do check it out if you haven't already, it's amazing!** **_After fanfiction .net put s/10058696/1/Lessons-Learned _Rennie thank you very much for letting me borrow this!**

**Pretty please review - I simply love to know what you all think & the Muse needs feeding lol, thank you!**


	21. Plans

**Chapter 21 – Plans**

**AN: Biggest thanks as every go to the wonderful Rennie75 for being such an amazing beta!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Arrow, The CW do, sigh!**

* * *

_Diggle knew that Roy would be remembering when he first learnt not to come between the pair. Team Arrow might not have an official list of rules or lessons, but they definitely had them regardless and not getting between Felicity and Oliver was the biggest one of the lot._

**_Mixed POV_**

Felicity woke first in the morning again to find Sara still on watch and the rest of the Team was still asleep. She was surprised that Oliver was asleep to be honest, but glad he was finally getting some of the rest that he so clearly needed but rarely allowed himself. It seemed that while they were both asleep they had moved closer to each other and before she sat up Felicity had noticed that their fingers just touching at the tips, drawing comfort from each other while they slept. _Maybe that's why he's still asleep?_Felicity wondered.

"Felicity." Sara spoke her name very quietly, hoping to not wake anyone else as she wanted to have a word with her without anyone else listening in. Sara could see from Oliver's breathing and pulse rate that he was genuinely still asleep.

Felicity looked up at her name and saw Sara indicating the space next to her _near the entrance to cave._ The morning air was cold still as it was very early and she could see Sara was cold even, if she would never admit to it. She got up and, taking her blanket with her, went and sat next to Sara wrapping the blanket around them both. She knew that Sara would never have asked for a share in the blanket, would probably never have even admitted to being cold either. However, there was enough blanket for them both to share when they were sitting together. Felicity wanted to make sure that Sara was looked after; even if Sara wouldn't choose to look after herself any more than Oliver did.

"Thank you." Sara said gratefully, being careful to keep her voice low still and Felicity understood that whatever it was that she wanted to say to her, Sara wanted to do it without waking the others. They sat in silence for a minute or two before Felicity spoke, understanding that Sara was no better at bringing up difficult things than Oliver.

"So what are we going to do about their reactions to his nightmares?" She asked Sara, having already worked out that that was what Sara had wanted to talk to her about.

"I have an idea … but Oliver isn't going to like it." Sara hesitated briefly before continuing, knowing that whether or not her idea went ahead would be up to Felicity. "We need to show them what happens if they get too close. They need to see otherwise one of them, probably Laurel, is going to get seriously hurt and Oliver will tear himself apart with guilt." Sara was realistic enough to know that if any of the group was going to ignore the warnings and get too close then it would be her sister.

It hadn't escaped Sara's attention how yet again Roy had been close by and poised for action, ready to stop her if she tried to get any nearer. While she was pleased to see Roy behaving as a part of the Team and working with them again, it truly annoyed her how dense her sister was being to all of the signs that Oliver – and the whole the Team - were giving off. Even Moira had ordered Laurel to keep back!

Felicity nodded slowly, she had already worked out where this was going and what Sara had in mind and, whilst she wasn't keen on it, she could already comprehend that Sara was right. "So that it happens within our control you mean?"

"Yes. I need to get close, to shake him like Moira did that first night back. I need to let him throw me - let them see what he does."

"No." Felicity shook her head as she spoke.

"Felicity..." Sara started, only to be interrupted by her.

"It is a good idea and you're right we do need to do it. But it can't be you Sara, it needs to be me." Felicity finished knowing straight away how Sara was going to react to that.

"NO! You'll be hurt, you can't protect yourself enough yet. Your self-defence skills have come a long way - but there's no way you can go up against Oliver or stop him." Sara insisted, amazed at the way that Felicity yet again was willing to put herself in harm's way to help Oliver, even if that meant being harmed by him herself. Her devotion to him went so far beyond just being friends and Team Members and Sara couldn't help but wonder abstractly when the pair of them were **_[was]_** going to realize just what they felt for each other.

"But that's exactly my point. My skills aren't that different to the others, especially to Laurel's. They need to see what can _really_ happen – and you and Diggle need to be ready and free to stop him from going too far and doing something he'll truly regret." Felicity explained her reasoning, knowing that it had to be this way. Sara being thrown or hurt wasn't going to prove anything, plus her reactions were just as automatic as Oliver's so it wouldn't truly show what could happen anyway. Felicity didn't say it, but she was also worried about what would happen if it went wrong and Sara got injured too. She knew that they needed Sara's skills to protect (and train) the rest of them– especially with Oliver and Diggle injured already.

"More than hurting you, you mean?!" Sara said pointedly.

"Yes." Felicity replied gently but firmly. She knew that Sara and Diggle would be there ready to stop things from going too far. She trusted them to make sure that enough happened to prove a point to the rest but no more than was necessary.

Sara sighed as she followed Felicity's logic and thinking, understanding what she was getting at. As much as she didn't like it and it was _not_what she'd had in mind, she knew that Felicity was right. She was loathe to put her in any situation where she could come to harm, but Sara understood that Felicity was the only Team Member it could be. Diggle wouldn't be much more of a true demonstration than she would be, and Roy was too dangerous, too out of control still to risk. Regardless, it did _not_ mean she was happy about it – and neither would Oliver be!

Sara briefly entertained the idea of not telling Oliver, of just letting it happen with only the rest of the Team aware of the plan – but she knew that Oliver would never forgive her for that and it would only serve to make his guilt worse. He found it hard enough to trust as it was, if they deceived him like that it could do some real damage. Whereas, if he knew about it and agreed (regardless of how reluctantly) then it wouldn't be quite so hard on him she hoped.

"Okay, but we need to speak to Diggle and Roy and get them on board before we speak to Oliver." Sara finally agreed.

**_Felicity's POV_**

They sat in companionable silence for a few minutes; Sara keeping watch, while Felicity simply watched the way the light in the clearing changed as day truly arrived banishing away the dark of night and with it the nightmares for another day she hoped.

"What's the plan for today?" Felicity asked as she began to notice faint stirrings amongst the others and knew they would soon be awake too.

"Training. Oliver is going to be giving Thea and Roy some archery lessons so I'll pair you with Moira and take Laurel myself. Walter and my Dad can pair up again. Diggle needs to rest but he can make observations and help out that way. Oliver really should rest too – but we both know that's never going to happen!" Sara said as Felicity nodded her agreement. _At least if he's teaching archery he's not actually sparring!_

Felicity didn't fail to notice the slight overtones of annoyance as Sara spoke her sister's name and she suspected that Sara's intention of pairing up against her sister wasn't purely about training. Felicity found that she didn't have a problem with that either, Laurel needed to be taken down a few pegs and realize just how deadly life could be here. It was time people stopped protecting her and she found out what the real world was like outside of the courtroom and without Oliver there to rescue her every five minutes.

She knew that Oliver would be too absorbed in training his own sister – and Roy – to worry about what was going on between the Lance sisters. Felicity also knew that Oliver was desperately trying not to get involved in things between them anymore, even if in many ways it was rather too late for that she acknowledged.

"Why is Oliver going to train Thea in archery, or continue with Roy's lessons, when we only have one bow?" Felicity asked curiously. She knew that it was a good idea to have more than one of them able to use the bow in case Oliver was injured – _like now_ her brain supplied – but Sara was already more than competent with it too. Plus Roy's target practice hadn't exactly gone well to date. _At least here there are no computer monitors for him to kill!_She thought ruefully, still slightly upset with him for damaging her babies.

"You'll see soon enough." Sara said cryptically with a sly grin that had Felicity intrigued as well as somewhat concerned at the same time.

"She'll see what soon enough?" Oliver asked having come up behind the pair as Sara spoke.

"Why you're going to train Thea and Roy in archery when you only have one bow." She answered, still grinning as Oliver didn't say anything in return but just grinned as well - making Felicity more suspicious even as she was happy to see him genuinely smiling after everything that had happened in the past two days.

_Has it really only been two days? If this is what just two days feels like then what must have it been like for him to have been here for five years?_She wondered sadly, her heart breaking all over again for everything her friend and partner had been through. _No wonder he was so broken when he first returned._Felicity thought back remembering how even Oliver's speech patterns had been stilted, a bit like how Sara's still were in many ways. She hoped with her whole heart that this time, having them all there with him, would stop him from breaking so badly - _stop both of them from breaking so badly_Felicity thought with a look to Sara.

"Ermm, are you sure that's a good idea Oliver? It didn't exactly go too well the last time you tried to teach me." Roy said pointedly as he and Diggle had now joined them too and had heard Sara's comment**.**

"At least there are no computer screens here for you to take out." Diggle answered smirking before backing up a step and holding up his hands in surrender as Felicity glared at him.

Much as she didn't appreciate the reference to her poor monitors, Felicity was happy to see the Team interacting and bantering with each other like this. It was good to see that none of them were letting events change the way they behaved. In spite of everything that had happened and that Slade had done, everything they'd found out that could have broken them apart or at the least weakened them, Team Arrow was still going strong. _Go Team Arrow!_

* * *

**AN2: Hope you like it? Please be kind enough to let me know your thoughts and fav/follow/review, thank you!**


	22. Shado's Lesson

**Chapter 22 – Shado's Lesson**

**AN: So I've borrowed some dialogue from canon here again, that belongs to CW not me. Rennie thanks yet again for the speedy turnaround & Americanizing my language when I forget lol :D **

**Thank you as ever to all of you for sticking with me, for following, faving, and reviewing - your support means the world to me & keeps me writing, thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, sigh!**

* * *

_Much as she didn't appreciate the reference to her poor monitors, Felicity was happy to see the Team interacting and bantering with each other like this. It was good to see that none of them were letting events change the way they behaved. In spite of everything that had happened and that Slade had done, everything they'd found out that could have broken them apart or at the least weakened them, Team Arrow was still going strong. Go Team Arrow!_

**_Mixed POV_**

The group broke into two as Sara had said, her group going to spar while Oliver took Thea and Roy off for archery lessons.

"Oliver, I know you've said you want to do this – but are you really sure it's a good idea?" Roy asked Oliver very quietly. He trusted Oliver's judgment, knew that here of all places he _had _to trust that judgment, but he and archery just really didn't seem to go.

"Yes." Oliver replied, making it clear that it was not up for discussion. He knew that Roy needed to learn control and archery was focussed on that more than on anything else.

He took Roy and Thea into the woods a little way, to a small clearing that he'd already decided would be suitable for their initial training.

"So I know that you've both done archery before – with varied results – but it's time to learn to take it seriously. Thea, I know that you were just starting it at school when I left and Mom said you were good at it, but let's see what you can do." Oliver knew that before he could teach her anything he needed to see what her style and technique were like, whether she truly did have any talent or not. He also needed to see whether she would even be able to fully draw his bow, he knew how heavy the draw weight was on it.

"Okay, what am I shooting at?" Thea was more nervous than she wanted to let on, but was determined after everything that had been said the previous night that she _would_ be fighting with Team Arrow. _If Ollie said this was the best way for me to do that then I _am _going to master it._

In answer Oliver went over to a tree a fairly easy distance away and marked out a chalk target on it, just like he had used himself when he was learning. He went back to them and handed over the bow, refusing to allow himself to give her any pointers this time. He knew that he needed to truly see her abilities if he was going to help her.

"That's your target Thea. Here." Oliver handed over the bow, Shado's bow, to his sister feeling a sense of déjà vu as he did so. He was pleased to see her feeling its weight as she moved it back and forth before she held out her hand for an arrow from his quiver.

"Remember, there are no safety arrows here Speedy." Oliver said gently but with a smile before he let go of the arrow.

Thea nodded, she nocked the bow after a couple of attempts but Oliver disregarded those, knowing it was just nerves. As she pulled back on the string for her first attempt at shooting it Oliver could see that Thea was struggling with the weight of the draw as he'd known she would. She did manage to draw it enough to fire the shot, although she didn't reach her anchor point before loosing the arrow. Her aim was a little wide and the arrow fell short of the target. Oliver was pleased with her first attempt though, even if he could see that she wasn't.

"Not too bad Speedy." Oliver commented with a small smile.

"You don't need to sugar-coat it Ollie." Thea replied, annoyed with herself.

Roy teased her laughingly "Next time try drawing the bow all the way."

"Let's see you do better then Roy Harper!" She replied indignantly, thrusting the bow at him in challenge and making Oliver laugh in turn.

Roy swallowed audibly at that but took the bow regardless. He held out his hand for an arrow but Oliver wasn't ready to just hand it over without a warning.

"Remember Roy, the draw on this is different to the compound, and it won't compensate if you overdraw it." Much as Oliver had plans to allow them all to be able to shoot if possible, he didn't want to risk Shado's bow being broken if Roy lost control.

Roy nodded his understanding and took the arrow Oliver then offered. Oliver was pleased to see Roy taking a couple of deep breaths before nocking the arrow, hopefully the younger man would remember some of the other things he'd tried to teach him as well.

Roy took aim and loosed the arrow. Just like with Thea's attempt, the arrow missed. However, unlike Thea's it went far beyond the target – his shot was totally wide of the mark though.

"Next time, aim." Oliver said with a grin, purposely using the same words from their practice back at the lair. This time it was Thea's turn to burst out laughing much to Roy's chagrin.

"Yours went wide too!" Roy said to Thea. As annoyed as he was with his shot, Roy was not surprised and was just glad that his failure had at least had the benefit of making Thea laugh and Oliver grin.

"There was a wind." Thea replied defensively.

"It may have escaped your attention, but we're outside Thea. There's always going to be a wind or a noise or something." Oliver responded lightly but still seriously.

"Alright then, you show us." Thea challenged and Oliver realised that unlike most of the others she had not really seen him shoot, except for that single standing shot outside the fuselage. When he had rescued her from The Hoods the light had been awful and there had been workmen's sheets everywhere. _Time for a bit of fun he thought._

Oliver held out his hand to Roy for the bow. Roy hesitated much to Oliver's surprise though before speaking quietly to him. "Oliver, your arm?"

Thea gasped, in all the banter she had forgotten for just those few seconds it had taken to issue her challenge that her brother had been shot, in the arm no less so of course he wouldn't be able to shoot. "Sorry Oliver." Thea apologised feeling guilty.

"It's fine Thea." Oliver said, bemused as to why Roy would have said that. He knew that it would take more than that to stop the Arrow, had _seen _that first-hand on enough occasions after all. Watching Roy's face he realized that the younger man had done it on purpose though, he had wanted Thea to see just how little effect even a gunshot wound would have on her brother. Oliver nodded his understanding to Roy before holding his hand out again.

Roy moved to hand over the bow, glad that Oliver seemed to have understood his motives. People took the Arrow, took Oliver for granted too often and he had decided he was going to make sure that Thea at least understood just how strong and determined her brother really was. If they were going to go up against Slade and his Mirakuru enhanced army then it was important for Thea and the others to not be distracted by whatever injuries Oliver had at the time and that meant showing her that they wouldn't stop him.

As he handed it over he said a single word, intending for Oliver to make the point for him. "Parkour."

Oliver nodded in reply, now he had understood and agreed with Roy's intent he was willing to go along with his idea. He took the bow and ran off a fair way, ignoring the burning in his arm and on his torso. Pain was weakness, it was immaterial, and he would not allow it to dominate or control his actions. He scaled a tree at speed knowing that both their eyes were on him, the bow slung across him as he climbed. Oliver stopped at the top and unslung the bow before leaping onto a vine, swinging out and jumping down onto the ground, landing in a roll and firing as he came out of it. He was well over twice the distance that the others had been from the target and he easily hit the target dead centre, despite the gust of wind that had crossed them as he was aiming.

"Woh!" Thea responded utterly stunned. "How do you even do that? How can you calculate the angles and everything that _fast_? You were never _that_ good at math!"

"Thanks for reminding me Thea!" Oliver replied somewhat wryly. "But I don't calculate anything. You don't need to."

"Then how do you know what you're doing?" Thea objected.

"Trust yourself, trust your senses."

"Oliver not all of us have super senses like you." Thea stated bluntly.

"She's got a point there man." Roy agreed.

"When I first learnt this I didn't have super senses either and I had _no idea _what I was doing. I didn't hit my target right away either." Oliver said, remembering his first practice with Shado with a smile.

"So how did you learn, who taught you?" Thea asked, intrigued by the smile that had momentarily flashed across her brother's face. She wasn't used to seeing him smile when he was remembering the Island, _remembering this place._

Oliver thought for a moment before deciding to tell her. If they were going to get back to how they used to be then he needed to talk about all this more he knew. _I was right though, this isn't easy even though I want to tell her. _Remembering Shado now was painful, but if he was to honor her then they needed to know who she was, to know more than just that she was the one Ivo shot. He nodded infinitesimally to himself as he made the decision to tell them more about Shado than just what Sara had in the cave last night.

"Shado. She wasn't just the one I fell in love with, she was Yao Fei's daughter – and she was the one who taught me to shoot with a bow. This bow belonged to her and Yao Fei before her, as did this Hood that I wear. I wear it to honor her memory."

All at once Thea understood why Oliver had hesitated before answering. Shado. The one Ivo shot, the reason that Slade was doing all this in the first place. _No wonder his speech is stilted again talking about this._

"Tell me about her, how did she teach you?" Thea prompted gently. She knew that he would find it hard, that he was finding it hard, but she'd seen that smile and wanted to help him focus on something that had made him happy – no matter how briefly.

"When she first taught me I didn't listen, didn't register what it was she was telling me. But even though it didn't work that day it was still what she said to me then that finally taught me how to shoot." Oliver met his sister's eyes as he spoke, making a point of not hiding his emotions for once. Oliver went on to relate the tale for them both, remembering it all so clearly as he spoke, her words, his answers.

"_Set your sight … hit the tree." Shado said calmly_

_Oliver fired, missing completely, the arrow going off wild somewhere into the forest._

"_Probably hit _a _tree." He said with an attempt at a light-hearted smile._

"_Set your sight … hit the tree." She simply repeated to him._

_Again Oliver aimed and again he missed._

"_Steady your anchor point." Shado said calmly, continually patient with him._

Oliver chose not to tell them how Slade had come up then, simply telling them how badly he'd sucked before moving on.

"_Try again." Shado said._

"_Okayyy." Again Oliver missed._

"_Try again."_

_Oliver simply sighed in response, knowing that this wasn't getting them anywhere. He sucked at this, Slade was right and there was no way he would be able to cover them to infiltrate Fyres' camp._

"_You're thinking too much." Shado stated, making Oliver laugh slightly as he replied._

"_Nobody ever accused me of that before!"_

Thea laughed too, picturing the scene in her mind. Oliver had been right, there was no way that anybody would have accused that Oliver of thinking too much!

_Shado took the bow and fired off two perfect shots, one standing, one kneeling, without even hesitating or stopping._

Oliver took the same shots demonstrating Shado's words just as she had done with him.

"_Show off!" Oliver said, impressed and proud of her, while seriously doubting he'd ever be able to do the same._

"_I see my target in the distance … I feel the variation in the wind … I hear the bowstring tighten … and I let go. Give in to your senses … don't think." Shado spoke the words that Oliver would never forget, even if he didn't truly understand what she meant or how she did that then._

"That's how I shoot. There are no calculations Thea, no thinking. I simply see my target, I let my senses be aware of what's around me, the wind, the people. I hear the bowstring tighten and I loose the arrow. That's what you need to do too. Give in to your senses, don't think." Oliver finished as again he demonstrated Shado's words, her lesson.

* * *

**AN2: So for anyone who may be wondering, yes nocked/nocking, loose, anchor point, safety arrows, and draw weight are all archery terms.**

**Please be kind enough to fav, follow, and/or review to let me know what you think? Thank you!**


	23. Bruce Lee

**Chapter 23 – Bruce Lee**

**AN: WOW! One month and two days this fic has been up & it's had over 550 reviews and over 72k views. You guys are AMAZING – THANK YOU SO MUCH! Sorry for the delay, I was updating 'Questions' & needed to do that before I could get the Muse back to 'The Island' lol.**

**Rennie I owe you big time on this chapter hun, thank you for keeping me going & encouraging me throughout this stubborn one!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is owned by The CW, sigh!**

* * *

_"That's how I shoot. There are no calculations Thea, no thinking. I simply see my target, I let my senses be aware of what's around me, the wind, the people. I hear the bowstring tighten and I loose the arrow. That's what you need to do too. Give in to your senses, don't think." Oliver finished as again he demonstrated Shado's words, her lesson._

_**Diggle's POV**_

Whilst Oliver, Thea, and Roy had been off doing the archery training, the others had all been with Sara to work on their sparring and self-defense techniques. Sara had paired them up the way she had planned when talking with Felicity that morning. Diggle had offered to demonstrate with her, but Sara had felt it would be less intimidating to the group if they saw that Felicity could manage each of the katas she was teaching them.

Diggle was fully aware that Sara was using that as an excuse so that he could rest after the events of yesterday. However, he acknowledged it was still a valid point and so he let it slip even though he didn't feel he needed the rest. Diggle appreciated the concern she was showing though as, after all, it wasn't all that long ago that Sara hadn't even considered anyone else in her plans at all.

While Sara and Felicity were breaking down each kata for the others to see, Diggle took care to watch the faces and body language of the group, taking in their reactions, the looks of concern, and the concentration levels of each so that he would know who they would need to be careful with and who would need the most help. Once they had grasped the basic moves, he moved around the group observing, teaching, and correcting the stances and moves as they practiced the katas again and again.

Laurel was going to continue to be a problem sure, but Diggle knew that Sara was going to be partnering with her so he would leave her to sort her sister out herself. He had _no _intention of getting between the pair, to do so would be almost as stupid as getting between Felicity and Oliver and his sense of self-preservation was far too well developed to allow for that unnecessarily.

As he walked around the group Diggle could see that Lance and Walter were doing well. Lance obviously had some training from his years on the force; and Walter had admitted that after his abduction he had taken some self-defense classes, realizing how woefully inadequate his skills had previously been in that area. Neither of them was good by their standards of course, but still they both had a good working foundation and Diggle knew that was something they could build on.

Felicity, of course,had been working with the rest of Team Arrow and her skills had really started to improve, along with her reaction times over the past few months, especially since their run in with Stephen Tockman – the Clock King. He was most worried about Moira though as she had never done any type of self-defense at all and she was the only one of the group who hadn't. She seemed to have a real difficulty with the concept of attacking and would only do the minimum of defense that she had to in order to block the hits from Felicity. Diggle knew they would have to do something about that very soon.

It had surprised him to be honest as he knew just how ruthless the woman could be when it came to business or to her family. He had assumed that would transfer over into her fighting style as well. It suddenly occurred to Diggle that Sara hadn't mentioned her being so hesitant yesterday when she was paired with Laurel. _Maybe it's just that she's loathe to hurt Felicity_, he thought, especially after she _finally_ apologized to her last night. Felicity had told him about that while Moira went to talk to Oliver. Diggle was still reserving judgment on that one, after everything Moira had done in the past two years - and in particular her words to Felicity - he was not as willing to accept her apology as Felicity had been.

Laurel did have some good skills and had clearly taken a lot from the self-defense classes Lance had made her take. However, she had a tendency to overextend and that was causing her to be slower to react and to do the transitions from one move to the next than she would otherwise be capable of. Also it meant that she was vulnerable to falling or being pushed over. She just did not have a strong enough base and it seemed that Laurel was ignoring the pointers that Sara was trying to remind her of from yesterday. He knew that overextension was a common enough problem with beginners and it was something Felicity had struggled with as well, the difference was that she had been willing to listen and practice again and again until she had finally mastered it.

Laurel had clearly never gone up against anybody with any real skills and so was arrogant in her fighting style, which again showed in her over-extension. Diggle knew that the arrogance would be likely to end soon enough though as he could see that Sara had decided she'd had enough. Watching Sara he knew they were only minutes away from _something _happening and he couldn't resist positioning himself where he would be able to both overhear and see everything clearly – _whilst keeping an eye on the others of course,_ he told himself.

_**Sara's POV**_

Sara had been taking it easy on her sister to start with, wanting to see how much attention Laurel paid to the katas they were meant to be practicing and what her style was like before taking things further. Although yesterday Laurel had done them, even if she hadn't been that keen then either, she could see instantly that Laurel thought these moves were too basic and had had enough of them today, but Sara disagreed. Despite the self-defense classes she'd done, in her view Laurel was still making a lot of fundamental errors and in this kind of fight that could well get her killed. The League had drummed into Sara so thoroughly that it was impossible to move on without a solid foundation that it annoyed her to see that Laurel's teachers had apparently not put much emphasis on this.

Sara still remembered how surprised she'd been when Nyssa had quoted Bruce Lee - "Fear not the man who has practices 10,000 different kicks, but fear the man that has practiced one kicking technique 10,000 different times." Yet she knew that Nyssa had been right. Laurel might know quite a few different skills and they might be enough to go up against the kind of lowlifes she'd find in the Glades – or against Max Fuller's bouncers (Oliver had told her about that, admitting how hard it had been to have to hold back and hide his skills like that) – but that was a whole other world to going up against Slade and his Mirakuru army! Laurel needed the strong foundation that could only come from repeating the basics continually until they were a natural part of her.

Laurel's style was altogether overconfident and arrogant, and she used that to hide her inaccuracies and lack of precision. She didn't hold back, but instead would overextend her moves leaving her vulnerable to attack. Ra's Al Ghul had always taught them that their fighting style showed their current personality and Sara couldn't help thinking what that showed about Laurel. It showed a lack of respect for her opponents as well – which in this case would be deadly – and not necessarily just for her. After practicing with her sister for a while and seeing no real improvement, Sara decided that she needed to watch Laurel sparring before deciding how to proceed.

"Felicity, would you mind sparring with Laurel so I can watch for a few minutes? Moira, you can take ten if that's okay?" Sara asked quietly.

"Sure." Felicity answered, going over to Laurel as Moira went to sit down next to Diggle.

Sara watched them go through the katas a few more times, but her observations only served to confirm what she'd known from the beginning of sparring practice yesterday. It was time to teach Laurel what it was like to fight someone who wouldn't back down or give way. _Besides, it won't hurt to take Laurel down a peg or two and to teach her to listen to those who know better and are only trying to keep her safe._

"You're overextending again, you need to watch that stance." Sara pointed out, giving Laurel one last chance to respond with respect to her sparring partner, her instructor, and the lesson itself. Regardless of her relationship to her instructor, Sara knew how important it was to show that kind of respect. If you didn't respect your instructor then you wouldn't respect their teaching. In the League disrespect was utterly unthinkable, Nyssa would _never _have allowed it even once they were together, and Sara was not willing to tolerate it here either.

_**Mixed POV**_

"There's nothing wrong with my stance." Laurel replied annoyed at the way Sara was picking on her. _It isn't as if I'm a complete beginner after all!_

_Chance over._ Sara decided to take things up a level. She glanced briefly at Diggle, having noticed his change in viewing position with no little amusement, and was pleased to see that he agreed with her assessment.

"Okay Laurel. You think that you don't need to practice these katas is that right? Do you feel confident with them?" There was a hint of warning in Sara's voice, but it appeared that Felicity and Diggle were the only ones who picked up on that.

"Yes! I've done these enough times Sara, I know what I'm doing." Laurel answered, peeved with the attitude her little sister was taking with her.

"Okay then, let's do them for real this time instead of just rehearsing them again. Felicity, would you mind practicing with Moira again while I spar with Laurel?" Sara asked sweetly.

Felicity was concerned by the sweetness in Sara's voice, she knew her well enough to recognize the threat that represented – yet somehow it appeared that Laurel hadn't noticed it. Felicity glanced at Diggle, seeing that he'd picked up on it too, but she decided to follow his lead and not comment on it. Apparently it was time for Laurel to learn a lesson or two. "Sure Sara, no problem." She replied, before going back to practicing with Moira.

Sara took up her opening stance, waiting for Laurel to do the same. She took the role of the attacker, just as Felicity had, as she was intending to show Laurel just what would happen if she continued with this arrogance and the over-extending. Sara had already decided she didn't have a problem with any of them picking up a few minor injuries during their sparring, especially if it helped them to improve. _After all, it's not as if I'm going to replicate the League's methods or anything,_ she thought wryly.

Laurel took the opposing stance, at least she was starting out correctly Sara noted. Laurel began doing the blocks correctly as well, if somewhat arrogantly, while Sara was using the same speed as for the practice. However, Sara then sped up very slightly and it took Laurel completely off guard. In response she overreached with her next blocking move as Sara had known she would. Then, instead of Sara going into the next hit at the same speed she slowed back down again. Because of the overextension Laurel's stance was weak and her momentum caused her to overbalance and fall over. Sara let her go, not making any effort to stop her.

Laurel got back up quickly enough with a glare at Sara, who was completely impervious to it and had already returned to the starting stance. "Attackers aren't always going to stick to the same speed Laurel, you have to be prepared to change it up a little." She pointed out calmly.

Diggle couldn't but think back to when Oliver had used those very words to demonstrate the same thing – except Oliver had done it with a blow to his cheek from a steel baton and Diggle decided that Laurel was getting off lightly.

Again they went through the same kata. This time Laurel was prepared for the changing speed, but not for Sara to start one of the hits before pulling back, turning it into a feint instead. Again Laurel lost her balance as her stance was not grounded and she stumbled badly, catching her balance just in time to stop her hitting the ground. Laurel was really getting annoyed now Sara could see and it was time to explain a little more.

"This is why it's important to have a strong foundation. If your stance isn't right, if you're not grounded properly, then it doesn't matter what else you learn you will _always _be vulnerable." Sara said, hoping that the physical demonstration would get through to Laurel were words alone had not been able to.

"You didn't stick to the kata though!" Laurel responded in a peeved tone. She had _not_ appreciated being shown up by her little sister like that.

"And that's exactly my point Laurel." Sara insisted. "You've gotten so used to your classes where the same moves are always used in response – and the only people you've fought have done the same thing too. Slade and his guys are _not _going to do that. They will _not _be predictable, they will change the speed around, and they will do things that are completely unexpected. You need to have a back-up plan and a variety of options. But equally it's no good knowing a lot of different moves if you don't have that strong foundation."

Sara paused, seeing that Laurel was actually starting to listen – at least a little, but she knew it still wasn't enough, yet. "Fear not the man who has practices 10,000 different kicks, but fear the man that has practiced one kicking technique 10,000 different times."

"Bruce Lee?" Lance said querying.

Diggle watched, unsurprised, as Lance and Walter gave up all pretense of continuing with their own sparring and they were quickly followed by Felicity and Moira. He had already seen that from the moment Sara had started to teach Laurel the concentration levels of the others had dropped. _Can't really blame them, especially when I've just done the same thing._ Diggle thought with a small smirk as he caught Felicity's eye knowingly.

"Nothing wrong with Bruce Lee Dad – I learnt that one from my … instructors." Sara had hesitated ever so slightly, not really knowing what to call Nyssa and not really wanting to tell them all about the League yet either if she could help it. She caught her Dad's eye and knew he had both noticed and understood from the tiny nod he gave in response to her words.

"You've been doing this for years though Sara, how can you expect me to be able to fight you?!" Laurel replied, annoyed at the way Sara was treating her.

Sara had been expecting that though and had already prepared her answers. "Slade has been fighting far longer than me and he's not going to give you any leeway for your inexperience." Sara argued, continuing before Laurel had a chance to respond. "But if that's how you feel why don't you spar with Felicity again. You've been training far longer than she has after all – and this time you can both use whatever moves you want."

"If that's alright with you of course Felicity?" Sara asked and again her voice was sweeter than normal, which Felicity took that to mean Sara expected her to 'change it up a little' as well. Felicity glanced at her to be certain though and was surprised to see a look which clearly showed Sara was giving her the opportunity to get her own back for all the slights Laurel had given her over the past two years. Apparently Sara had had enough now too. Felicity looked to Diggle to confirm his agreement which he showed instantly without needing to actually use words, as usual.

"Sure. Laurel?" Felicity asked, only for Laurel to take up the beginning stance again in response. She realized was looking forward to this more than she'd expected to. After all, the others still thought of her purely as, at most, the IT girl on the Team. She'd learnt a fair amount since becoming a part of Team Arrow and even more since Tockman had shot her.

Diggle grinned at Sara, knowing that she'd engineered this all along even if she was unlikely to admit to it. Sara had proved her own points about Laurel's foundation by making her fall over without even laying a hand on her. He'd already noticed how annoyed she'd been with her sister for ignoring Felicity about the Tylenol, amongst other things. It was time for Felicity to prove Oliver's point about not underestimating people!

Sara came over and sat next to Diggle as Felicity and Laurel got started. Neither were surprised to see that Laurel started out making all the aggressive moves while Felicity held back, watching and evaluating her opponent. They were pleased to see how much she'd taken on board, especially in the relatively short period of time since Tockman. Felicity used Laurel's weaknesses against her, allowing her to overextend before using Laurel's own momentum as she pulled on her throwing her to the ground.

"Nice!" Diggle murmured approvingly, knowing that he had spoken quietly enough for only Sara to hear.

Felicity quickly followed up the throw, not allowing Laurel to recover from her mistakes. This time she used Laurel's arrogance to correctly anticipate and sidestep a blow at the last second, causing Laurel to go sprawling. Again, she capitalized on the error and it wasn't long before she had Laurel pinned in a hold that Laurel was unable to break.

"Well done Felicity." Oliver said, much to the surprise of everyone except Sara and Diggle.

* * *

**AN2: Opinions? Please be sweet enough to let me know what you think guys, thank you! :D**


	24. Reactions

**Chapter 24 – Reactions**

**AN: Plea – No Spoilers Please! The finale does not air in the UK until Thursday 22 May so I do Not want to read or hear anything about it until then. Thank you!**

**Rennie75 is the best beta in the world ever. Thank you so much for being such a true friend & wonderful support – my work would be nothing without you!**

**Finally, huge thanks to both Rennie & KenyanCougar for both doing your best to keep me spoiler free – your efforts are greatly appreciated girls!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is still owned by The CW, big sigh!**

* * *

_Felicity quickly followed up the throw, not allowing Laurel to recover from her mistakes. This time she used Laurel's arrogance to correctly anticipate and sidestep a blow at the last second, causing Laurel to go sprawling. Again, she capitalized on the error and it wasn't long before she had Laurel pinned in a hold that Laurel was unable to break._

"_Well done Felicity." Oliver said, much to the surprise of all except Sara and Diggle._

**_Mixed POV_**

Laurel and Felicity both turned in surprise, neither had realized that Oliver had rejoined them, or that Thea and Roy were right behind him too for that matter. Laurel was highly embarrassed that Oliver had seen her fighting and her fall before being pinned by Felicity. She couldn't believe that the IT girl had taken her down, especially since she _knew_ that she had been studying this stuff a lot longer than Felicity had. Much as she hated to admit it, her analytical brain forced her to admit that the only reason this had happened was because Sara was right. _My foundation is too weak – and I do overextend._

Felicity for her part was pleased that Oliver had seen her win the fight. She had worked so hard at the sparring, practicing over and over the katas that the Team had taught her. She'd even been putting in extra practice with Sara whenever Oliver wasn't around, determined that the bad guys were going to stop seeing her as the weak link, the one that they could use to get to Oliver. Much as she had wanted to learn new moves, she recognized the experience of the Team and all of them had agreed that without a solid foundation you couldn't get anywhere. _Even Roy's admitted that the reason he was able to beat so many of the guys who were bigger than him in the Glades was because they fought arrogantly without bothering to have a firm base to what they were doing._

Moira had been very surprised by the fight between Felicity and Laurel, she had never expected Felicity to have any real talent for this, after all she worked in IT for goodness sakes. She assumed that Laurel had been training for years, that she had been forced to learn because her dad was a cop and also because of the type of people CNRI had gone up against. It would seem that of the two, Felicity had taken things more seriously however. She supposed that that shouldn't have surprised her after everything else that they had found out over the past three days, but somehow it still had. _I see there was no need to hold back when practicing with her after all._

Diggle and Sara had both been pleased with the way the fight had gone and they were proud of all the work that Felicity had been putting in. _Looks like all those extra practice sessions with Sara were worth it, even if she doesn't think we know about them, _Diggle thought. He knew that it had been necessary to take Laurel down a few pegs. Before they could truly teach her she had to accept the truth of what they were saying. _Although, from the look on her face it looks like Felicity may have just got some of that through to her – let's hope so _Diggle thought grimly.

Walter was surprised but happily impressed. _Always knew she was a remarkable woman, looks like I did the right thing in giving Oliver her name after all, even if I wish she had never been caught up in all this. _He thought, even as he accepted that it was just as much his fault that she had become involved in it all. _I was the one who asked her to look into Tempest, into the notebook. _He was just relieved that she had clearly found her place on Team Arrow – and apparently learnt some new skills along the way too. Walter still felt responsible for dragging her into the whole thing, but now he was somewhat reassured by the fact that the Team clearly valued her highly and had taken pains to teach her how to defend herself as well.

Lance had been completely stunned by the way the fight had gone. He knew how long Laurel had been taking those classes, but he suddenly realized he hadn't really ever seen her fight. If he had he probably would have tried to point out her weak foundation as that was something he could remember being drummed into him back at the Academy, but he knew it was unlikely she would have listened to him anyway. _Looks like Sara finally found a way to get through to her big sister – shouldda known Felicity would be the key._

Roy couldn't help grinning. He knew that neither woman had been aware that they had returned, so they had been able to watch the fight unobserved. He knew what it felt like to be put down continually and so to see Felicity be able to put Laurel down after all the snide comments she had had to listen to from Laurel was immensely satisfying for him. He had glanced at Thea a few times and knew that she was impressed by Felicity, it seemed that her confidence in the Team was increasing with every new skill they revealed. He was just glad that they could make her feel safer, Thea was the center of his world. _Just as Felicity is the center of Oliver's even if neither of them will admit to it yet! Only a blind man could miss the look of pride on her face at his compliment – or the look of pride on his at what she'd just been able to do for that matter!_

Roy was still very worried at his own lack of mastery of the archery, despite the time that they had been practicing he had made very little improvement, even though Thea had improved thankfully. _It seems that a natural talent for archery runs in the Queen family_ he thought wryly. Obviously she still had a long way to go before she was anything like Oliver – but at least her aim was better than his. He just didn't know what Oliver was going to do about the draw weight, it was far too heavy for Thea to use as it was. For that matter, he couldn't see why Oliver was going to all this trouble when they only had one bow between them.

Oliver was unbelievably proud of Felicity. He knew just how hard she had been working at her training, somehow finding the time to even fit in extra practice sessions with Sara _even if she thinks I don't know about them _he thought with a hint of a smile. He could see from Laurel's face that she was finally listening to them, that she had finally started to accept what they had been trying to tell her. If it took embarrassing Laurel to do that then so be it. It was much kinder than the way he and Sara had been trained after all! He was glad that Sara had found a way to involve Felicity in the lesson, allowing her to get some of the satisfaction that she had deserved for all the times that Laurel had put her down – even if Felicity would never had admitted to wanting or needing that. Felicity's face had been a picture when she had heard him speak and finally realized that he was there.

Oliver moved into the clearing followed by Thea and Roy who was carrying the game Oliver had recovered from the traps on the way back. "You've made a lot of progress, good work." Oliver said letting the pride be heard in his voice. "How's the rest of the training going Sara?"

"Good, there's a variety of skill levels as you know and we have a _lot_ of work to do, but most of them are getting the hang of the basic foundation work." Sara purposely met Oliver's eyes as she said that. The point had been made to Laurel already and there was no need to rub it in any further until they had seen if Laurel was really ready to pay attention now or not. "How about the archery?" She asked in turn.

"Roy's aim still needs … practice." Oliver replied making Roy give a short laugh and Diggle and Sara both smirked too, remembering all too well what Roy's aim was like. "Thea has some talent, but not enough strength yet. Plus the draw weight is too heavy for her on this bow."

"I see a bowl of water in your future Thea." Roy said cryptically, much to Thea's bemusement.

"What?" Thea queried. She didn't understand what her boyfriend was going on about now, _nothing new there, _or why it was that Team Arrow were all grinning at that comment.

"You'll find out soon enough." Diggle answered still grinning.

"That dinner Roy?" Sara asked deciding it was time to move things on a little. "Take a break everyone while we sort the food out."

"I've got it Sara, you need to train too." Felicity replied much to the surprise of the other Team Members who were all too familiar with her dislike of blood. "What? It's not like there's a Big Belly Burger around here."

"Thank you Felicity." Oliver said, accepting her offer before putting his bow and quiver down at the edge of the clearing. "You guys ready?" He queried to Sara and Diggle.

"Oliver, you're not seriously thinking of training in the state that you and Diggle are still in, are you?" Walter questioned, concerned for them.

**AN2: Please be kind enough to feed the Muse by reviewing?! ****You make me so happy by following, faving, and/or reviewing!**

**I have the next chapter mostly written already so provided there's no spoilers in your comments I will update tomorrow****! :)**


	25. Questions

**Chapter 25 – Questions**

**AN: Continued Plea – No Spoilers Please! The finale does not air in the UK until Thursday 22 May so I do Not want to read or hear anything about it until then. Thank you so much! (To those of you who've kindly suggest an online site, those don't work in the UK unless you have Felicity level skills to access them, I don't. Very kind of you to suggest though, thank you!) Thank you all loads for not leaving any spoilers so far, hugely appreciated!**

**This fast update again is only possible because of the amazing beta work of Rennie75 - 3 cheers for Rennie!**

**Disclaimer: Arrow is still owned by The CW, big sigh!**

* * *

"_Thank you Felicity." Oliver said, accepting her offer before putting his bow and quiver down at the edge of the clearing. "You guys ready?" He queried to Sara and Diggle._

"_Oliver, you're not seriously thinking of training in the state that you and Diggle are still in, are you?" Walter questioned, concerned for them._

**_Mixed POV_**

Oliver looked around and to his surprise he realized that the same looks of concern were mirrored on the faces of the other non-Team Members. "Slade Wilson will not wait for us to recover or heal, you don't get time out in the middle of a fight because you're injured. If you want to survive then you have to train. Besides Walter, I've been injured far worse than this before – we both have." Oliver said bluntly, understanding that they still weren't comprehending just how life and death this whole Island was. It had been dangerous enough with Fyers in control, it was worse with Slade!

He turned to face the center of the clearing where Sara and Diggle were now standing ready and they began to train. As always, they trained hard and fast with no-one giving any leeway or making any allowances for injuries. Nothing was off limits and Thea was ignored when she gasped on behalf of her brother when Diggle caught his wounded arm with the bamboo baton. Apart from a small hiss however Oliver didn't react and he didn't even hesitate to respond in kind as he sped up and spun round catching Diggle across the cheek in turn.

"Thought you would have remembered that one Digg." Oliver said without stopping.

"I did. Just still didn't manage to dodge it." Diggle replied dryly, making Sara bark out a laugh which was then cut off as Oliver and Diggle both caught her at almost the same time in return.

Thea was still stunned by seeing them train, she was worried for her brother and Diggle even though she could see that they clearly weren't worried. She knew they must be in pain, yet somehow they were not only ignoring that pain but were actively conquering it and fighting regardless. She couldn't understand how they could do that, let alone how they could manage to banter at the same time.

"Yeah, they're always like that." Felicity said as Roy nodded in agreement, both had seen the look on Thea's face and wanted to reassure her. "Despite appearances they do know their own limits though Thea so you don't need to worry about them okay." _Well, Sara and Diggle know their limits anyway, not so sure about Oliver some of the time._

The training continued, the three of them only stopping once dinner was cooked. Everyone sat down together in the clearing to eat by unspoken agreement. Whilst it was daylight they didn't want to have to spend any more time in the cave than they had to. The conversation was general and light to start with but Oliver could tell that several of them were holding back on questions that they wanted to ask. He decided that as much as much as he didn't like talking about his past, it was better to do it in daylight when everyone was fairly relaxed, rather than in the dark when they were all on edge after a nightmare. The only thing he preferred about talking in the dark was that they couldn't all see his face properly. He looked around observing the body language and tension in each of them, trying to work out what they wanted to ask before deciding who was best to start with.

"What did you want to ask Walter?" Oliver said, having made his choice.

Walter looked at him hesitating for a second before asking anyway. "How do you do that, fight despite the pain? How do you train as hard as you do without worrying about any pain you cause each other?"

"You mean Diggle hitting my arm." Oliver replied.

"Yes, amongst other things." Walter nodded.

"Train hard, fight easy. That's what it all boils down to. The idea is to incapacitate your opponent with the minimal amount of effort possible. So we don't aim to find the hits that will hurt the most, but we don't avoid them either. If there is any real damage then we do stop straight away and deal with them, do whatever stitches are medically necessary. But apart from that we keep going regardless. Whilst there is no malice you do need to get used to keeping going when you are hurt." Oliver tried to explain it.

"It's not as if the other guys are going to stop if they hurt you after all." Sara said.

"Besides, you only get hurt if you don't react fast enough, if you're distracted, or if those you're fighting are better than you. Sometimes you can't help being distracted, it happens. But you can help your reaction speed, you can help how skilled you are. So we work as hard as we can to try to make sure that we're the more skilled ones." Diggle spoke in turn.

"Like remembering what moves someone's made before." Roy couldn't help adding – knowing full well that Thea was curious about Oliver's comment to Diggle.

Oliver and Sara laughed in response while Diggle tried and failed to look offended. "I didn't say we always succeed – just that we try."

Oliver smothered his laughter a bit as he explained, having also seen the query on Thea's face. "I did that move over a year ago when we were sparring in the lair, caught him pretty hard that time too."

"Yeah, with a steel baton that time." Diggle added pretending to be peeved, but at the same time wanting to let them know that they took it seriously enough to train with steel bars.

Oliver just shrugged in reply. "Not as if I didn't let you get your own back later Digg!" He said thinking of when Diggle-Vigilante had 'captured' him and his Mom.

Felicity had been following the whole conversation closely too and knew instantly what Oliver was referring to. She also had sensed several times over the past couple of days that Moira had still been upset and confused about that, but that she hadn't dared to bring it up. Felicity decided that as Moira had now made the effort to apologize she would make it easier on her.

"Yeah, the one time you were meant to pull your punches!" She said pointedly to Diggle.

"I did!" Diggle responded quick as anything.

"Okay, would you guys mind not talking in code here? You might be able to have entire conversations in a couple of words, but the rest of us can't." Lance said just as pointedly, having given up all attempts to keep up and knowing full well they were talking about something else now.

Oliver looked at Diggle who raised an eyebrow and Oliver knew that he was saying _Might as well tell them, you know your Mom's still upset about that _even though Diggle never actually said a word. He glanced at Felicity who nodded too, so he took a calming breath and began to explain.

"Back before the Undertaking we knew that something was going on but we didn't have enough information to stop it. We'd tried everything we could think of and had run out of options. As the Vigilante I'd already had one conversation with my Mom as you know."

"When I shot you." Moira cut in bitterly.

"I told you it's fine Mom, you were scared and didn't think you had any choice." Oliver tried to reassure her before continuing. He knew this was going to be hard on her but he owed her the explanation and the others deserved to know how far they were willing to go to do what was needed. "So anyway, we decided that as Mom had used me and Thea to beg for her life, she would be willing to tell us what was going on if she thought I was going to be hurt." Oliver looked around evaluating their faces and the various looks before he continued, knowing that they probably weren't going to be very impressed with what they'd done but still feeling it had been justified.

"Diggle wore the costume to 'capture' my Mom and I. He used the voice changer so she had no idea who he was, that he wasn't really the Vigilante. He questioned her but she wouldn't answer to start with." Oliver paused slightly.

"I was too scared of Malcolm Merlyn." Moira supplied, remembering that night and the fear she had felt all too well.

"So I nodded very slightly at Diggle to tell him to go to the next stage, that it was time to not just threaten me." Again Oliver hesitated seeing the pain in his Mom's face and the accusation in the faces of Thea and Laurel.

Diggle saw their faces too, along with Oliver's and decided to cut in. "So I followed our plan and hit Oliver a few times to make her think he was in real danger."

"A few times? You knocked him over. You scared the wits out of me, I thought you were going to kill him!" Moira couldn't hold back any longer.

"So that's what you meant by pulling punches." Lance said to Felicity seeing that they were in danger of going too far into the memories and pain of the past.

Felicity nodded her agreement as Oliver spoke up again.

"He really did pull his punches Mom." Oliver ignored Felicity's snort as he continued. "I let that chair fall over with me in it. If I'd wanted to I could have stopped it. Diggle was following _my_ orders and he waited for _me_ to make the call Mom. I'm sorry we scared you but we needed that information – and we used it to figure out enough to direct Lance to find the first device and for Felicity to be able to lead him through deactivating it to save the other half of the Glades. I am sorry you were so scared, but it was the right choice to make at the time." Oliver could see they were taking in his words and he had been careful to emphasize that it had been his orders so that nobody would blame Diggle.

"Besides, it's not as if a few punches would hurt me Mom and I didn't want you to be hurt either. Anyway, like I said, I was letting Diggle get his own back for that blow with the steel baton amongst other things." Oliver finished with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood again.

Thea was pretty upset by what she had just heard and had been shocked to discover the lengths they had gone to in order to try to save the Glades. Despite how hard it was to hear this stuff, she was proud of her brother and wanted to help him. She could see that he was trying – and failing – to lighten the mood, so decided it was time to change the subject.

"So what did you mean by a bowl of water being in my future?" She asked, again bemused when her question was met with laughter from Team Arrow.

* * *

**AN2: What did you think peeps? Please let me know, thank you!**


	26. Of Water Bowls and Nightmare Plans

**Chapter 26 – Of Water Bowls and Nightmare Plans.**

**AN: Continuing with my Plea – No Spoilers Please! The finale does not air in the UK until Thursday 22 May so I do Not want to read or hear anything about it until then. Thank you so very much for honouring my wishes on this!**

**Huge thanks to all of you for your amazing reviews & support, you make me write faster & I'm so grateful to you all! :D Rennie - you are amazing as ever for your incredible beta work & fast turnarounds, thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**Disclaimer: Why don't we own Arrow yet Rennie & KenyanCougar? No fair, CW still do!**

* * *

_"So what did you mean by a bowl of water being in my future?" She asked, again bemused when her question was met with laughter from Team Arrow._

**_Mixed POV_**

Once the laughter had died down a bit Oliver decided the best way to explain was to demonstrate. "Sara, could you get the bowl and some water please?"

Sara obliged willingly, knowing exactly which bowl Oliver meant and looking forward to seeing the responses Thea and the others had to his version of strength training. She had already seen that the original bowl from when Shado had taught him was in the kit bags from the fuselage, but had chosen to leave it out of sight in the bag until Oliver was ready to bring it out. They'd had a metal tin to use for boiling water anyway so it hadn't been necessary to use it for anything else. She filled a couple of water bottles from the water collection knowing that they would get through the first bottle soon enough, before taking it all back to Oliver and the group who were waiting.

Thea had tried asking questions while Sara was gone but had been met with Oliver's stubbornness as he would only respond with "You'll see soon enough." Thea sighed knowing that when Oliver decided something it was very hard to change his mind, so she would simply have to wait. She was happy that at least the change of subject seemed to be working and the tension levels had dropped. She could see that her Mom was still struggling to come out of her memories and hoped that whatever it was Oliver had in mind would help further.

Sara set down the bowl on a flat rock and passed the bottles to Oliver, before sitting back down. She also put the bow down unobtrusively next to the rock, suspecting that Oliver would use that in his explanation as well. She could see that the rest were intrigued by whatever was going on and was quietly impressed with Thea for managing to change the atmosphere and being willing to help out. It seemed the teen was growing up fast.

Oliver walked over to the bowl, holding the first water bottle, before looking around to meet each pair of eyes in turn to ensure that all their attention was on him. "As you all know, when I left I wasn't exactly in top shape physically, I didn't have any real strength or anything." He saw the nods and heard the various murmurs of agreement and could see they were wondering where this was leading. Oliver was glad to be able to share a memory from this time that wasn't bad for once and that would, at the same time, show them just how important Shado had been.

"This bow that I use came from the Island, it belonged to Yao Fei and after he died it passed to his daughter, Shado. It was just Slade, Shado, and I together then, and Fyers was after us. He was the leader of the soldiers that had been hunting for Yao Fei. We needed to get into the camp to stop him from something he had planned but although Slade and Shado were amazing fighters, I was not. Slade had been teaching me and I was getting better, but my progress was too slow. We needed both of them to be able to infiltrate the camp but that meant there had to be someone to cover them. We didn't have any working guns, only the bow – this bow. The problem was Shado was the only one who could use it." Oliver spoke clearly, addressing them each in turn.

"Yao Fei had already let me have an attempt at shooting but I was horribly useless – worse than you were to start with Roy." Oliver couldn't resist the aside, but at the same time he wanted Roy to know just how far and how fast he had come so that Roy would finally start to understand he _could _do the same.

Thea laughed at that, now she'd seen Roy's attempts she could see just how bad Oliver must have been. She looked at Roy who just shrugged, not even bothering to pretend to be offended this time.

"As Thea has learnt this morning you need a lot of strength to use a bow, especially a long bow with a heavy draw weight like this one. The modern compound bows will do a lot of that for you, but this bow was strung for Yao Fei. I didn't have a chance of drawing it properly, of reaching my anchor point." Oliver held the bow as he spoke, demonstrating what he meant.

"Slade said that it was hopeless, that I would have no chance and I agreed with him! Shado however had other ideas. She told him I would hit my mark by the end of the day. I seriously doubted that, but was willing to try whatever she wanted me to. As well as training me in how to actually aim and fire a bow, without the need for complicated calculations or anything …" Oliver looked as Thea, smiling as he said this. "… she also taught me an ancient Chinese way of building up arm strength fast."

Oliver poured the water into the bowl, enjoying the looks of confusion the non-Team Members were giving him and the smirks on the faces of his Team. "Shado made me do this for hours on end. It drove me nuts but it taught me control at the same time. Thea, this is what I had to do, this is what Roy has been doing to learn control, and it is what you will now need to do too." Oliver slapped the water, hard, exactly as Shado had shown him. "This is the original bowl that she used to teach me. It may seem weird to you, but it works."

He slapped the water again, being careful to show the flat hand that he was using, before picking up the bow again. "After doing that for hours I had gone from not even being able to draw the bow hardly at all, to drawing it to the full anchor point." Again he demonstrated the two draws for them all to see. Oliver stepped to one side indicating for Thea to take his place. She looked less than impressed and Oliver could tell that she was actually really annoyed and didn't really believe that this would work at all. But he was more relieved than he could say to see that Thea did it nonetheless and Oliver knew she was doing it to support him, making him proud of just how far she had come from the drunken 17 year old he had returned to find.

"Training on the Island can take lots of different forms from what you may be used to and what you may all associate with the word, but it does work. Without the distractions from the world, and with the total focus that you have to have here, you can learn far faster than you ever imagined. Oliver and I picked up a lot of skills very fast in our time away and you can too, but you need to trust us, trust what we're teaching you." Sara spoke, emphasizing both what Oliver had just said, and the training lesson from earlier.

"Break's over, time to train." Oliver spoke quietly but it was clearly an order nonetheless. "Thea, stick with slapping the water please."

Sara cut in, knowing that she and Felicity needed to speak to the Team and it would probably be best to do it while the others were occupied. "Moira, will you train with Laurel please? Walter, you're with my Dad again please. Oliver, Team Meeting."

Oliver was surprised, but nodded his agreement regardless as he noted that Felicity had been expecting that. Whatever it was Sara wanted to talk about, Felicity was clearly already aware of it and, from the looks on their faces, he suspected he wasn't going to like it.

Sara walked towards the cave followed by Felicity, Oliver, and Diggle. Felicity noted that Roy was holding back, not sure if he had been included in the request of not. "Roy, that means you too, you're a part of this Team." She saw his grin as he quickly jogged over to join them and she knew how much it meant to him that he was being included. It was true though, he might have turned away for a while, but Roy was as much a part of this Team as Sara, and out here they all needed to be together on what they were doing.

They went just inside the entrance, being careful to ensure that they could still clearly see all of the others in the clearing as well as the approach routes, but far enough away that the others would not be able to hear them. Sara looked to Felicity, this was her plan but now that she had them here she didn't know how to start. Felicity saw the look on her face and decided that as she had adapted the original plan it would be best for her to explain it to the others. She also knew that Oliver would take it better coming from her than from anyone else. Before she could start however Oliver spoke first.

"What's this about Sara?" He asked cautiously, the look on Sara's face had put him on edge.

"I …" Sara started but before she could get any further Felicity cut in over her.

"_WE _decided that something needs to be done about the way they behave during nightmares." Felicity saw Oliver's face darken immediately but carried on regardless. _He may not like this but it needs to be said. _"While they stayed back last night it was still touch and go and it's just too dangerous. Sooner or later one of them …"

"Laurel" Sara supplied.

"… is going to move without us being able to stop them in time and they, she, is going to end up getting hurt. We agreed it's better to keep things within our control so Sara and I came up with a plan for how to handle this." Felicity continued, grateful that Sara had been the one to say her sister's name.

"Okayyy." Diggle allowed warily. He could see how unimpressed Oliver was by this already and they didn't even know what the plan was yet. At the same time he knew that the girls were right, something _did _need to be done and soon.

Felicity took a deep breath, already prepared for the way Oliver was going to freak once she revealed what they were going to do. "Which means that they need to see what can happen, but in a manner that is under our control.

"And how are you going to manage that then?!" Oliver asked, his voice thick with warning, knowing he was going to hate her answer.

"Simple. I'm going to shake you …"

"**WHAT?!**" Oliver shouted angrily, mad that she could even consider doing that.

"… or Sara - whoever has the next nightmare, before anyone else can get close." Felicity finished, completely ignoring Oliver's outburst. "That way Diggle and Roy plus you or Sara will be there to make sure it doesn't go too far and that I'm not in any real danger, but at the same time it will hopefully scare Laurel and the others enough to keep back in future.

"I did originally suggest it was me who shakes you." Sara said, her self-preservation instincts kicking in at the glare Oliver was sending her way. She knew that Felicity could protect herself after all – especially when it came to Oliver. Others might have thought her quiet, but she knew full well that Felicity didn't need protecting here.

"And I told her that wouldn't work! Oliver, think about it. You and Sara both react so fast that they wouldn't see what can truly happen, Diggle wouldn't be much better either …" Felicity insisted, repeating the argument she had used with Sara. "… and Roy …"

"It would be too dangerous to use me, I don't have that level of control yet." Roy interrupted Felicity, saving her from having to say it. He nodded back, acknowledging the look of appreciation she sent his way at having said the words for her. Roy would help her any way he could he knew. Felicity had done so much for him and had stood up for him when he hadn't been able to stand up for himself. She was the one who had truly welcomed him into the Team and made him feel a part of that, even here in the midst of all of this she was still trying to do the same and he valued that more than he could say.

"She's right man, if they are going to really see then it needs to be Felicity." Diggle voiced his agreement. Felicity flashed him a look of appreciation just before he continued speaking. "BUT, we need to set it up carefully, and you _have _to agree a signal to let us know you're about to move _before _you actually do it okay! We cannot risk being caught unawares Felicity. Understood?!" Diggle finished, meeting Felicity's eyes as he spoke in a tone close to Oliver's Arrow growl, making it abundantly clear that those terms were not up for discussion.

"No." Oliver argued. "There is no way I am going to agree to this."

"Oliver we have to. Otherwise someone is going to get hurt." Felicity spoke calmly but determinedly. This needed to happen whether he liked it or not.

"What about you? I don't want to hurt you Felicity. I can't be the one who makes that choice!" Oliver spoke, trying but failing to hide the fact that his voice broke slightly as he finished. The idea of risking Felicity, the possibility of him hurting her was a complete anathema to him, and it had him more scared than he wanted to admit.

"There's no choice to make." Felicity answered simply, repeating the words he had used to her when he killed the Count.

Much as Oliver wanted to, he couldn't find the words to argue with that. "Okay." He said finally, his reluctance clear to all. "But Digg is in control, you follow his rules or this doesn't happen." Oliver knew he couldn't win this, he never could win against Felicity after all. _But at least if Digg's calling the shots he can protect her. _Oliver knew that Diggle would do anything to protect the woman he thought of as his little sister and Oliver knew he had to trust him with His Girl.

Roy had stayed silent, watching as they argued it out. He saw the glares being shot back and forth even as he already knew what the outcome would be. It still amazed him that Oliver had yet to learn Lesson #2 – Never bet against Felicity.

* * *

**AN2: As before, Rennie75 has been kind enough to give me permission to borrow another Lesson from her amazing fic Lessons Learned – read it if you haven't already ok guys, you'll love it :D**

**Please continue to be as amazing as ever by letting me know what you think, thank you! :-D**


	27. Distractions

**Chapter 27 - Distractions**

**AN: Continuing with my Plea – No Spoilers Please! The finale does not air in the UK until Thursday 22 May so I do Not want to read or hear anything about it until then. Thank you so very much for honouring my wishes on this! (Online viewing sites do not work in the UK so kind as it is to suggest them, I can't use them, thanks.)**

**I am absolutely stunned by the fantastic reviews & support you have all given me & simply can't say thank you enough – THANK YOU!**

**Disclaimer: You know it already, Arrow is owned by The CW.**

* * *

_Roy had stayed silent, watching as they argued it out. He saw the glares being shot back and forth even as he already knew what the outcome would be. It still amazed him that Oliver had yet to learn Lesson #2 – Never bet against Felicity._

**_Mixed POV_**

Despite having given way, Oliver was a very long way from being happy with this plan. He could understand the logic of it and he knew they were right, something needed to be done. He agreed that it was best for that something to happen in a planned manner, controlled as much as possible, and with the Team expecting it. But none of that made him feel the slightest bit better about the fact that it would be Felicity who was getting hurt – and that he was going to be the one hurting her. _Unless Sara has a nightmare first_, his brain supplied, but he knew that was a lot less likely. Sara's nightmares were bad too, of course, but they happened a lot less frequently than his. He'd already had them two nights in a row and didn't think it likely that the pattern would change any time soon. Fate wasn't kind enough for that – not on this Island anyway.

He walked off, leaving the others still discussing and planning, with a desperate need to burn off some of the restless energy he was suddenly filled with. _Time for fitness training._ Oliver ignored the looks from those of the others who were still training as he strode passed them over to a pair of trees that had grown fairly evenly. Oliver remembered back to when they had used the vines to string a sturdy branch between two trees in order to create a decent height pull ups bar and he decided to do the same again.

He knew that Sara and Diggle would help him if he asked, but right now he just needed to burn this off on his own, it wasn't the first time he'd set one up here alone anyway. Oliver took the time to scout out a decent branch for the pole and then got to work setting the whole thing up and securing it soundly. He set the pole about ten feet off the ground so that it would provide an extra vantage point at the same time. That would mean a drop off about four feet to the ground so it wouldn't be too high for the rest of the Team to use it if they wanted to. He knew Felicity wouldn't use it of course, but the others probably would.

Oliver stripped off his shirt and proceeded to work out using the new pull ups bar doing a variety of different style pull ups, determinedly ignoring the looks the others kept shooting his way. He knew they were watching, especially once he started doing the slightly more unusual versions of the pull ups and in particular the horizontal ones. Oliver understood they may not have seen them being done before, but at the same time it annoyed him a bit because it meant that their focus was not on their own training.

Oliver suddenly realized that it had never bothered him when Felicity was watching him train, somehow that felt different. Try as he might though, Oliver could not convince himself that the only reason it didn't bother him when it was only her was because he knew she would be getting her own work done at the same time. _Yeah right!_ Oliver's brain supplied sarcastically as he sighed.

Oliver then swung his legs over the bar using them to hold him in place as he did the inverted crunches that he would normally do with his feet hooked between the pipes in the lair. Still wound up, Oliver flipped over as he dropped back down to the ground, striding over to an older tree that he could use to do the handstand push-ups. Oliver finally finished these only to start on a parkour routine that took in the whole clearing, the trees and the rocks, and the cave itself. Part way through his third loop Oliver grabbed the quiver and bow and incorporated target practice into the next few circuits.

By this time the rest of the Team had finished their planning and had come back out. Sara immediately saw that Oliver had set up the bar again and went to use it, she was feeling pretty wound up herself and decided to follow his example of working out in an attempt to relieve some of her own tension too.

Diggle, Felicity, and Roy stood there for a couple of minutes watching the way that both Oliver and Sara were now parkouring. Felicity observed that they were both involving a lot of strengthening moves in their workouts. She was surprised to note just how much of what they were doing there was that she could now not only recognize but accurately identify. It seemed she had learnt more than she had thought during the past two years.

Diggle looked around, seeing that the others had now given up all pretense of continuing with their training and were avidly watching Oliver and Sara instead. He couldn't help a wry grin at that. _Heck I still find it amazing what they can do, especially when Oliver's shooting at the same time, and I've spent the past two years seeing it. Can't really expect them to concentrate while they're going at it like that either I guess._ _Damn, Felicity's double entendres are catching now._

Oliver had already seen that the others were now all watching Sara and him and they had stopped their own practicing. He sighed, not really surprised as he knew how long it had taken Felicity to get used to the sight of him training. Much as he didn't appreciate the stares he supposed he could hardly expect them to become used to it any faster than Felicity had. _Especially considering everything else they'd had to deal with over the past few days _Oliver came to realize unhappily. He just wished he knew what he was going to do about it. _If they don't train, if they can't concentrate, then we will have _no _chance against Slade!_

He looked to Diggle, not knowing what was best to do but hoping that his friend and partner would have some idea. Diggle caught the look, understanding that Oliver was clueless as to what to do about the others and recognizing how big a problem this could potentially be. _Not as if we can just give them the time to get used to it – not here. _Diggle nodded, making a decision and at the same time signaling to Oliver that he had this one.

"Okay guys, take five and have some water. It's important not to let yourself get dehydrated, so make sure you keep your water intake up." Diggle said addressing them all. He let them all get some water as he sat down in the clearing where they had sat for lunch. The group came and joined him, as did Oliver and the rest of the Team. Once they were all there and had had a minute to settle down Diggle started speaking again.

"So we couldn't help but notice that you were all kinda distracted by Oliver's and Sara's training." Diggle spoke, being careful to keep his voice light and friendly. He paused for a minute allowing the mumbled responses and awkward nods. In particular he noticed Laurel's face, she might be good at hiding her emotions in the Courtroom but Diggle had seen that particular look on Felicity's face when Oliver was training shirtless too often to not recognize it. He buried his faint smile as fast as he could. _You've got no chance Laurel – whether they accept it or not yet Oliver and Felicity are made for each other. Besides, Thea's already in matchmaker mode so give it up already unless you want to go up against her at the same time as breaking Roy's Lesson #1._

Diggle reined in his thoughts as fast as he could, amused as he was by the situation he knew he needed to get a handle on things. "Whilst we can understand that, the stuff they can do is pretty impressive to say the least, it is really important for you to be able to focus on your own training irrespective of any distractions."

Diggle could see they weren't taking him that seriously though so he decided it was time to get a bit blunter with them. "Slade isn't going to care if you're distracted any more than he cares if we are injured. You've seen what Slade did to Oliver and me yesterday. That was certainly only the beginning of whatever he has planned and we _need_ to be ready for him. That means no distractions guys. I know it seems harsh, but we haven't let our injuries stop our training, and you can't let anything else distract you either."

Oliver was glad that Diggle had been the one to say it, although he would have done so himself if he needed to. But it was important for them to know that all of Team Arrow was together on this, so it could only help for Diggle to have said similar things to the comments that he and Sara had previously made.

"Time to get back to it, but we're going to change up your partners a bit." Oliver said, he knew how easy it was to become used to the way one person fought and forget to be aware of others' techniques as well. "Diggle will you work with Laurel and Walter; Lance you're with my Mom please. Thea I need you to do some more target practice and then go back to the water again. Roy you're with me. Sara will you continue your work with Felicity please." Oliver just grinned at the surprised look Felicity sent his way, letting her know without a word that he'd been aware of their training all along. He could see that all the non-Team Members were actually quite surprised by his pairings. "It's important to not get complacent with your sparring partner and a big part of that is to train with as many different partners as you can."

Oliver had chosen to partner with Roy as he wanted Sara and Felicity to continue their work. Laurel would respond best to Diggle after this morning's lesson he hoped and there was no way he was going to risk anyone else working with Roy. _Just in case, _he thought darkly as he met Roy's worried face.

* * *

**AN2: Please be sweet enough to feed the Muse by following, faving, and/or reviewing - thank you so much!**


	28. Mirakuru

**Chapter 28 - Mirakuru**

**AN: I have been stunned by the fantastic reviews & support you have all given me & simply can't say thank you enough – THANK YOU!**

**_(Yup, no more spoiler free pleas – I finally found one online site that still works in the UK – my thanks to you all for keeping it spoiler free this long, you're stars!)_**

**Disclaimer: You know it already, Arrow is owned by The CW.**

* * *

_Oliver had chosen to partner with Roy as he wanted Sara and Felicity to __continue their work. Laurel would respond best to Diggle after this morning's lesson he hoped and there was no way he was going to risk anyone else working with Roy. _Just in case_, he thought darkly as he met Roy's worried face._

**_Mixed POV_**

Despite Oliver clearly having decided that he wanted Roy to train with him, Roy was still unsure and worried about it. He knew full well that Oliver would never let his own injuries stop him, it would take far worse than what he had currently incurred for that, but still Roy was scared that something would go wrong. He was having a hard enough time holding on to his control here as it was and focusing on Thea was all that was keeping him going. If he was training then his focus wouldn't be on her and that was when things could get dangerous he knew.

"You sure about this?" Roy queried hesitantly.

"Yes." Oliver replied bluntly. "Roy you need to get true control and not just when you are focusing on Thea. The only way that you are going to achieve that control is by training. Felicity needs to continue her work with Sara and that means that you need to work with me. We'll work over there." Oliver said, nodding to an area slightly removed from the others but still within sight of Sara and the Team.

They started simply, going over and over the basic techniques that Oliver had already taught Roy and reinforcing them, before moving onto the newer moves that Roy was only beginning to learn. Oliver knew that these moves were where the dangers lay as it was when Roy got frustrated that his rage would take over. Unfortunately, this time was no different. They had been working for about half an hour before Roy, having gotten the same move wrong yet again and taken another blow from Oliver as a result, lost control. He spun away from Oliver and smashed his hand down into and through a big rock, shattering it instantly and noisily.

"Shit." Roy swore bluntly as he realized what he had done and the attention his outburst had attracted. The attention served to calm him straight away at least, but he was less than happy at what he had done. _No hiding it now, _Roy knew.

"They had to find out at some point." Oliver said, not unsympathetically.

Roy was initially surprised both by the lack of criticism and by the hint of understanding in Oliver's voice. Once he thought of all the things that Oliver had been forced into revealing and explaining since Slade had captured them and marooned them all on Lian Yu though, he started to understand.

"What the heck Roy?!" Thea was the first to yell and it was easy to hear the anger and concern warring in her voice at her boyfriend's actions.

Sara had made it to Oliver's side almost instantly after Roy's outburst, closely followed by Diggle, and then the others – all of whom were now starring at Roy in confusion and fear. Felicity moved to stand next to Roy showing her solidarity and support and Roy was incredibly grateful for that. He knew how badly he had scared them all and that was about to get a _lot_worse once they explained about the Mirakuru, so to have Felicity so clearly displaying her support meant a huge deal to him. Roy looked at Oliver, the question clear in his eyes - _How are we going to do this?_

"It's okay folks, nothing to worry about." Diggle started, trying to calm them slightly even though he knew how hollow those reassurances were – and how pointless they were about to become. Nonetheless, it was important to let the others know that they was neither unexpected to the Team nor something that they were scared of.

Oliver looked at Roy, asking silently if Roy would trust him to tell the story, to explain to them all what had happened. Roy had never asked to be injected with the Mirakuru, hadn't even known what it was, and Oliver was not about to let him have to deal with having to explain it as well if he could help it. Roy nodded his agreement, plainly thankful for the help.

"Detective, you remember when QC's Applied Sciences Department was broken into all those months ago?" Oliver had decided it was best to start at the involvement any of the others had had with Mirakuru, so that he would have a better chance of controlling what questions came up from there.

"Yeah, Cyrus Gold, no way could I forget him or what he did. What was all that anyway?" Lance queried. He was confused as to why Oliver had chosen to bring this up now, but he was willing to follow Oliver's lead, even though he knew that somehow he wouldn't like the answers.

"I destroyed all traces of the Mirakuru on the Island, wiped it out so that that could never happen to anyone again. I shot Slade in the eye and thought that I had killed him too. Except as you know, I was wrong. He survived. Mirakuru has amazing regenerative properties and that eye was the only thing it couldn't restore. Slade escaped and eventually he returned to Starling City after me. But even though I had destroyed the Mirakuru vials on the Amazo, it was still in his blood and Slade used that to create more. Cyrus Gold was the first to survive the injection." Oliver had turned slightly and was focused completely on Felicity now as he spoke, knowing that she would give him the anchor he needed in order to explain further.

"Survive it?" Lance queried.

"The majority of people who have been injected with Mirakuru die Dad, it has a very low survival rate." Sara explained.

"There were others?!" Lance said, scared. He remembered all too well the damage that Cyrus Gold had done, the fellow officers and friends that Gold had killed before he had given the key to the Arrow, which had allowed him to stop that monster.

"Others that were injected, yes. Others that survived …" Oliver paused slightly "… only one and he was kidnapped and injected against his will." Oliver looked at Roy, meeting his eyes and letting Roy know that the whole Team was standing with him. "Roy."

As expected, there was an uproarious response to the news – and no small amount of fear visible too. Oliver waited for the initial responses to calm down, but while he waited again one comment stood out among the rest.

"That's how he was strong enough to carry you both." Lance commented, suddenly understanding how Roy had been able to do it when he had struggled to even help hold Oliver up.

"Yes, amongst other things." Oliver confirmed. He was thinking rapidly, working on damage control as he could see the fear taking hold in some of them already. "We've been working with Roy ever since that night."

"Like you did with Slade?!" Laurel blurted out accusingly.

"Slade was already bitter long before he was injected with the Mirakuru Laurel!" Sara snapped straight back at her sister. "What was it you said he told you, Oliver, about people in this world?" Sara asked Oliver – knowing full well just what it was that Slade had said.

Oliver looked at Sara gratefully. "Long before the Mirakuru, before we even met Shado, Slade told me that everybody in this world is only out for themselves. Slade was working for ASIS when he came to Lian Yu with his partner Billy Wintergreen. They were here to rescue Yao Fei. Instead Billy took up Fyers' offer and went to work for him instead. He was the one who first tortured me, he gave me these scars that Slade replicated yesterday – the originals were much deeper though. Billy was Godfather to Slade's son, Joe, and he betrayed him. Sara's right, Slade was bitter long before the Mirakuru."

Diggle spoke up now too. "Roy has been working really hard with us. The Mirakuru causes a lot of rage and that's what makes it so hard to control. But, instead of hurting others like Slade, Roy takes his rage out on inanimate objects, things that don't matter like that rock."

"And training dummies." Felicity couldn't help adding, guessing correctly that it would make Roy smile as he shrugged in response as Oliver laughed too. "Roy has also been out there, with Team Arrow, helping people. He's using what he's learning for good – like when he rescued you from being crushed by that lighting rig when Shrapnel tried to blow up Sebastian Blood's rally Moira." Felicity knew that that would get their attention and showing that Roy had used his strength to work with them and more importantly to save Moira's life would go a long way toward reassuring them.

"So that's how you healed so fast from that arrow, the regeneration?" Thea queried as she continued speaking. "You stopped the rack of glasses smashing on me too – that was how wasn't it?!" Her tone was partly understanding, partly accusing, and Roy knew Thea was a long way from impressed with him for lying to her.

"Yeah." Roy confirmed. "I have a long way to go, but we have a better understanding of the Mirakuru now too than when Slade was injected, thanks to Felicity." Roy wanted to make a point of that, to let her know just how much he valued everything she did for him. _Felicity truly is the heart of Team Arrow _Roy thought. _Just hope we can protect her with this dumbass plan they've come up with!_

* * *

**AN2: So, the Nightmare Chapter is coming next - you still have time to let me know if there's anything in particular you'd like to see, for this or for anything else :D Thank you!**


	29. Nightmare Plan

**Chapter 29 – Nightmare Plan**

**AN: Here it is guys - no more waiting for the Plan :D Really hope you all enjoy it!**

**Thank you all so much for your amazing support, the amount of follows, favs, and reviews have been simply stunning! As always the biggest thanks go my wonderful beta Rennie75 who makes all this possible. Thanks also to KenyanCougar for your help with this one. You guys are fabulous!**

**Disclaimer: Rennie & KC we really need to sort this out - for some reason The CW still owns Arrow, not us. Sigh!**

* * *

_"Yeah." Roy confirmed. "I have a long way to go, but we have a better understanding of the Mirakuru now too than when Slade was injected, thanks to Felicity." Roy wanted to make a point of that, to let her know just how much he valued everything she did for him. Felicity truly is the heart of Team Arrow Roy thought. Just hope we can protect her with this dumbass plan they've come up with!_

**_Oliver's POV_**

After revealing about the Mirakuru it was obvious that the others had a lot of questions, however Oliver wasn't prepared to answer, or to have Roy answer, any more of them at that point. "We've told you all you need to know. Roy is a part of Team Arrow and we trust him. That's all that matters." Oliver growled slightly as he spoke, making it abundantly clear that the subject was closed.

"Sara, can you show me that last move again, I'm still not sure I've got it quite right." Felicity said changing the subject and making the point that it was time to get back to training. Oliver nodded to her gratefully. _Yet again she's trying to make things easier for everyone, even though I know full well she's mastered that move._

Slowly, and with no few grumbles, the others returned to their training groups as well. Oliver continued to work with Roy for a while longer, before they both headed over to Thea to do some more archery practice. Thea and Roy took it in turns with one practicing shooting while the other was slapping water. The end result of that was that both were pretty wet and fed up, but Thea was getting closer to drawing the bow properly and Roy's aim was getting closer to the target – even though he had only managed to actually hit the target once, nowhere near the center.

Practice continued until the sun setand they all stopped for food. After eating Oliver headed out with Roy to check and reset the traps yet again, they were having to do this more frequently than Oliver was used to with the amount of people there now were to feed and Oliver just hoped that they would continue to be able to catch enough food. Tempers and patience were both running short enough as it was and he knew all too well how much harder things seemed to be when you were starving. Oliver also knew that many of the group had probably never missed more than a single meal in their lives, so hunger would be completely new to them and he was unsure how they'd react to it. Most of the traps were empty though and Oliver was starting to worry, as he met Roy's eyes he saw that he shared the same concern.

As they returned to the cave Oliver gave a whistle letting Sara know that it was them and all was fine. After yesterday they had agreed on two signals that all the Team could give – one for all clear and the other for danger, just in case. The last thing they needed would be to be caught unawares. As they came within view of the clearing they were met by questioning glances from Diggle and Sara. As usual, no words were needed for the conversation to be followed by all.

_Where's the food Ollie?_

_There wasn't any, traps were empty. I'll hunt in the morning._

_You know they're not going to react well to being hungry man._

_I know._

Felicity came out of the cave and joined the rest of the Team. "They're all settling down for the night, they're exhausted by all that training." She tried to keep her tone light, but Oliver could see she had already picked up on the lack of food and the unspoken conversation. He could also see that Felicity had picked up on the fact that the closer it got to night the more worried he was about the Nightmare Plan.

"Are you sure you want to go ahead with this Felicity?" Oliver asked hoping, even though he knew it was pointless, that she would have changed her mind.

"It needs to be done Oliver. It will be okay, they will protect me." Felicity spoke assuredly, showing her confidence in the Team even though it was plain to all that this was one time Oliver did _not_share that confidence. "It's my life, it's my choice." She finished and Oliver knew that she was reminding him of all the times they had had this argument by using the same words she had before going undercover for the Dollmaker case. _And that turned out oh so well didn't it!_ Oliver couldn't help thinking. He wished she'd chosen a different conversation to repeat, before remembering that none of the times she had gone undercover had gone exactly to plan. _This is really not making me feel better!_

"We've got this man, trust us." Diggle added his reassurances but they had no more effect than Felicity's and Oliver just gave a deep sigh in response, before he ducked into the cave. Roy had explained the Plan to Oliver while they were out checking the traps so that there was no chance the others would overhear. Oliver admitted silently it was a good plan, they had thought it through and had even changed the watch order so that Oliver would be left to sleep initially. Meanwhile, two out of Roy, Sara, and Diggle would be awake at all times. Much as they had said it would happen regardless of whose nightmare happened next, Oliver understood that they all expected it to be his and had planned accordingly, not that he disagreed. Regardless, he still didn't like it.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

**_Mixed POV_**

Felicity woke from her light doze to hear Oliver groaning and she saw that he was tossing and turning and she knew he was in the early throes of another nightmare. She looked to Sara and Roy who were on watch and nodded to them. Diggle had woken up at the same time as her, so he and Roy took up their planned positions. Felicity waited for Oliver to go deeper into the nightmare so that they could be sure this was going to work. _I only want to have to do this once._Within seconds Oliver's groans had turned to screams and the others were waking up now too. Felicity waited still, needing them all to be fully with it before she touched Oliver, otherwise it would be a pointless exercise she knew.

"Oliver!" Thea cried as Oliver started to scream as well as writhing about and instantly everybody else was fully awake.

Felicity turned to Diggle and gave a small nod that would be clear to him and the rest of the Team, but imperceptible to the rest. Diggle nodded back and she knew that was her cue. _Here goes nothing._ Felicity took a small breath before stepping forward as she started to speak slightly more quietly than she normally would, but not enough to raise suspicion.

"Oliver." As she stepped forward Felicity pretended to trip on the uneven cave floor and landed with her hand suddenly on Oliver's shoulder. Instantly Oliver flipped her over and she crashed down hard onto the cave floor, knocking over Laurel in the process who had once again gotten too in close. Diggle moved just fast enough to stop Oliver's hand from smashing down onto her windpipe, making Felicity realize how important it had been to plan this whole thing carefully. She was a little stunned from hitting her head on the ground however and was not really thinking all that clearly.

Oliver woke up very suddenly milliseconds after Diggle caught his hand and he backed away instantly as Sara went to him. Lance went to dash toward Laurel as Thea went to go to Oliver but Roy stepped in front of both quickly, arms spread out to prevent them from getting any closer. Roy knew that it was still dangerous and he wasn't prepared to take any risks until the Team gave the all clear. He was worried about Felicity,but didn't dare to turn away from Lance and Thea to check on her. Roy knew that Diggle would be doing that anyway. When they had been doing the planning it had been arranged that Sara would go to Oliver, Diggle would watch over Felicity, and he would control the others. Roy had no intention of incurring the wrath of any of the Team by breaking Diggle's orders, regardless of how many glares he was getting. He was listening to carefully to everything going on behind him however.

"Oliver, it's okay. You're alright, you're safe, we're all safe." Sara said over and over.

"Felicity, you okay?" Diggle voice was full of concern and Roy listened closely for her reply.

"Yeah, sure John, I'm fine. Shouldda known Plan A would never completely work though because it never works with us is Laurel okay stupid Plan A must remember your Rules Roy think we'd have learnt that Lesson by now…"

"Felicity?!" Oliver's voice was full of concern as he spoke and Felicity stopped her babble, as always, as she heard him say her name.

Roy grinned, knowing that if she was babbling like that and was going on about the Rules and Lessons he had learnt then she was fine. He knew straight away which one she had been talking about and realized she was right, they should have remembered it. _#13 Plan B is no more likely to work than Plan A so make sure you have a Plan C – still think my version is more accurate though - #9 Plan C frequently doesn't work either so Plans D, E, and F are also a good idea to have ready._

"Relax man, she's fine, no harm done this time." Diggle said trying to calm Oliver who was still breathing deeply. Diggle couldn't tell if it was the lingering effects of the nightmare, or his concern over Felicity's well-being. _Probably both_he suspected.

Roy put his arms down and turned around as he went straight to Felicity. He knew that Diggle had been giving him the all clear at the same time as reassuring Oliver. As he turned though Roy was surprised to see that Sara was now on the ground next to Laurel and she was checking the back of Laurel's head. Laurel looked really mad and so he was not the least bit surprised when she started yelling.

"She might be but I'm not! Plan, what plan? You mean to say this whole thing was planned?! What kind of half-assed idea was that?!" Laurel's voice was getting angrier and higher pitched as she yelled at them all. "What were you all playing at letting Felicity do it anyway? She belongs behind a desk with her precious computers!"

_Uh oh! Now you're in trouble Laurel, breaking both the cardinal rules in one go?!_Roy thought, deciding that he didn't actually care. Laurel had been pushing and pushing ever since she got here from all accounts and he had had enough of her back in Starling City as well anyway. He was, however, surprised by who the first person to respond was.

"How dare you Laurel?!" Sara shrieked getting right in her sister's face. "Felicity can do whatever she decides to or have you forgotten her beating you this morning! She is so much more than the IT girl you keep saying she is – and she's pretty damn remarkable at that as well! Felicity has been out in the field more times than you know – and she is the only reason that you have a sister who is still ALIVE!" Sara finished shouting, her voice hard and dangerous and full of threat.

"Wait, what?!" Lance said, almost but not quite shouting. He knew that Sara had been through a lot, she had probably been close to death more times than he wanted to think about if he was honest with himself. _Felicity saved her life too though?_

"Felicity took a bullet for me! If she hadn't pushed me out of the way and taken that bullet from Tockman then I would be dead." Sara said as bluntly as she could, daring anyone to say a single word against Felicity and, in the process her, now.

* * *

**AN2: Sooo? What do you think?**


	30. Five Years

**Chapter 30 – Five Years**

**AN: Thank you all so incredibly much for your continued support – you are all amazing! Thank you also to the Guests & those with PMs disabled that I can't thank personally!**

**Sooo, Rennie75 is the fabulously wonderful beta who makes all this possible & who got me writing in the first place. She has now taken the plunge of writing an original fiction – the first prequel of which is up on FF's sister site FictionPress. She's writing under the same pen name so please be sweet & check it out? It's called The Seer's Quest. Thank you!**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_"Felicity took a bullet for me! If she hadn't pushed me out of the way and taken that bullet from Tockman then I would be dead." Sara said as bluntly as she could, daring anyone to say a single word against Felicity and, in the process her, now._

**_Mixed POV_**

Lance was utterly stunned. _Felicity took a bullet for my Sara. She actually took a bullet on purpose to save Sara?!_He had known she was brave, she had proven that the night of the Undertaking by staying in the Glades. She had had a better idea than probably anyone else of what that damned machine could do – and yet still she had stayed knowing that to do so would save the lives of others. It seemed that Sara and the others were right to call Felicity remarkable, she was truly amazing – especially when you remembered that she didn't have any formal training, had never been in the Forces or anything.

"Thank you Felicity!" Lance said earnestly, putting every ounce of grateful emotion into the words that he possibly could. "I owe you more than I can say."

"No you don't Detective. Sara was in danger, I pushed her out the way, that's all there was to it." Felicity answered simply, still sounding very slightly out of it, but a lot better than she had been only a few moments ago.

"Felicity, you chose to put yourself in the path of a bullet, saving Sara's life and getting shot yourself in the process. That's incredibly brave and it's time you recognized that!" Oliver spoke seriously, trying to get her to realize just how much her actions had meant.

"Got my first proper scar too." Felicity spoke lightly trying to ease the tension as she pulled down her shirt to show off the scar.

Oliver grinned slightly while Sara and Diggle laughed at her words, they all remembered the conversation in the lair about their various scars. Roy however looked bemused as he had not been present for that exchange. It was Laurel's response that surprised them all though.

"Thank you – and I'm sorry Felicity." Laurel said, her voice breaking as she spoke. Seeing the physical evidence of the bullet that had been meant to kill her sister had affected her more strongly than anything else could have. Finally she realized that she truly did owe Felicity for Sara's life, without her Sara would be dead, and Laurel burst into tears.

Despite her tears and apology though, Oliver wasn't going to let Laurel get off that easily. "The only reason you got hurt tonight Laurel is because you ignored the rules, ignored us. Yes we did plan this whole thing and no we didn't intend for you to know it, which is why we decided that Felicity would pretend to trip. All of you were getting too close and it was so dangerous, yet you wouldn't listen! Mom, you and Walter were the only ones taking it seriously enough and we realized that was because you actually had experienced what could happen. Without Diggle and the others standing there prepared, ready to stop me from hurting Felicity, something far worse _would_ have happened. When I hurt you Mom I was at home, in my own bedroom, and that made it easier to come back to reality faster. If any of you get too close out here then there is a big chance I could do some serious harm, or even kill you."

Oliver could see he was getting through to them, and that Thea and that the others were also getting upset now, but he was utterly fed up and was through with coddling them. Felicity had needed to risk herself just to get through to them and enough was enough! They needed to hear some harsh truths without any sugarcoating or any holding back this time. He continued speaking, letting the emotion have free reign for once and fully show in his voice without holding back at all.

"Don't you understand? For _five years_ I survived by reacting that way! Sara too. These were five years where I was captured, tortured, beaten more times than I can even remember. I was cut with swords, stabbed, shot with arrows and with bullets. I was kept in cages, I was starved, I was shocked with a generator! I saw people I cared about being killed. I watched the woman I loved being murdered and I couldn't do a damned thing to stop it! Every single moment of every day I was on edge, my life completely at risk. This is not play, this is not pretend, this is _real_. You have all of us here with you – me, Sara, the whole Team, looking after you. Sara and I, we didn't have any of that! We weren't even together for most of the time. I became a killer just to survive, I had to! You have to know, _you have_ _to understand_ - these were five years, **_five years where nothing good happened_**_!"_

Oliver took a deep breath, getting his emotions back under control. He had never originally planned for the others to know all of that, had even said as much to Thea after he'd allowed her to overhear him talking to Felicity and Diggle. But now he knew, he understood, they had been protecting the others too much for them to realize, to understand, to know what life here was like. Finally though, Oliver had understood that if he wanted them to survive then that had to stop, _he_ _had_ to stop protecting them so much.

Complete silence fell as they were all utterly stunned by Oliver's words, his emotions, by the utter pain and anguish in his voice.

Walter was truly shocked by Oliver's words. It had been bad enough finding out that Felicity had been shot – although he was utterly proud of her for putting herself in the path of that bullet to save Sara's life. Walter knew he was at least partly responsible for her getting involved in all of this after all and he felt guilty for that. But to find out just what Oliver had been through, it moved him to silent tears. He knew that those words would be forever engraved on his memory and he began to _truly_understand why Oliver had been so incredibly distant and yet at the same time so utterly observant and intuitive upon his return. He felt more sad than he could possibly express at everything his step-son had been through and Walter knew that, even having been on the Island a few days now, he would never have dreamed of even half of the things Oliver had experienced, had survived.

_Five years._ Walter would never think of those two innocent little words the same way again. In those five years Oliver had been through more than anyone should ever have to go through in five lifetimes. Walter himself had struggled enough with being abducted for those six months, had found returning to the rest of the world tough to adjust to. Now he knew why Oliver had understood as much as he had, had been as sensitive to his moods as he had. _Oliver was kept in cages. Tortured and beaten more times than he can remember._Walter knew that he would never see Oliver in the same way again and, looking around at the faces of the others, Walter understood why he had never revealed all of this before. _He didn't want their pity. He didn't want us to treat him differently because of it._

Lance had been impressed and amazed by the Arrow, by Oliver – and by Sara – so many times already. But to hear that, Oliver's words, he knew he'd never be able to think about either of them the same way again. He still didn't know much about Sara's time 'away' as she liked to refer to it, but he now knew more than he had ever wanted to of Oliver's – _and that's without him even having gone into the proper details._He had been taken aback by what he had heard and Lance was filled with sympathy and pity for what Oliver had been through, as well as a huge respect for the man who now stood before him.

Moira's heart broke as she heard her son's words, heard him speaking with more emotion than she had heard from him since he had been back home. The words were playing on repeat inside her mind, etched in indelible ink on her brain and she could hear them again, over and over and over. Five years. Captured. Tortured. Beaten. Cut. Stabbed. Shot. _My boy, my beautiful boy, what have you been through - and can you ever fully come back to us?_Five years. Kept in cages. Starved. _No wonder he took food from the table, pocketed it all the time to start with. My baby was truly starved._Five years. Shocked with a generator. Watched his love murdered. _How can he deal with that, how does anyone deal with that?_Five years. Every single moment on edge. Killed to survive. Five years. Five years. _Five years!_

Thea was openly crying as Oliver finished speaking. She didn't care what anyone thought though, she knew that tears weren't a sign of weakness but of love. It had been bad enough to hear the pain in Oliver's voice when she had overheard him saying some of the same things to Diggle and Felicity and again later when he had spoken to just her. But to hear him say it all _like_ _this_ had badly shaken her and she was utterly distraught by the sight of her brother as he had spoken.

Thea had wanted to go to him, wanted but not quite dared to touch him. The fire and pain in his eyes had scared her for she had seen the flashes of danger of the killer he had been as he spoke. But at the same time she had seen the agony, the pain, and the loneliness of the young man he had been, the brother she had lost. Oliver might think that that man was gone now, but she knew that hints of him were still there – the good stuff had remained. The man underneath it all, the 'good heart' that Raisa had always seen was still there. Thea knew that his heart was the reason that Oliver was still going, still standing before them all right now, fighting, bearing his soul in order to teach them to fight too.

Felicity was the one who actually went to Oliver, not surprising Thea or the Team in the least. She was the one who took his hand, putting her other hand on his upper arm and squeezing gently. She needed no words to let him know everything she was thinking. Oliver knew just from her touch that she was there for him, would always be there for him. She truly saw him, she knew him and understood him in ways that none of the others ever had. She had looked into the darkness of his soul and her light had burned through that. She was filling his shadows with her light, driving the black away. She saw the hero where Oliver saw damage. She saw survivor where he saw killer. She was _his girl_and she always would be _his girl_. Felicity told him all this in those simple touches and in the look of love and care that was in her eyes.

Oliver allowed Felicity to lead him back to where they were would sleep and she pulled him down, lying beside him as she kept hold of his hand. All she said was one simple word. "Sleep." But in that word was the promise that she was there, that she would keep him safe. That she had his back, that he was not alone, and that he would never be alone again. Sara came and laid down nearby, between them and the rest of the group and Roy followed her, demonstrating with their positions yet again that Team Arrow had his back. Diggle took the watch and nodded his promise to Oliver that he would keep them safe as they slept.

The rest of them went to lay down in the same positions they had taken the previous nights. However, it was Thea who surprised them all when she moved her blanket to come and join Team Arrow, when she took her place in having Oliver's back too. Felicity looked at her, eyes full of approval and thanks which meant more to Thea than any words she could have used.

Oliver looked at them and his eyes were bright with unshed grateful tears, his Team, his sister taking her place on the Team. He looked to Felicity, _his girl,_ she had given her approval to Thea and accepted her into their Team and therefore the others did too. The last thing that Oliver was aware of as he closed his eyes was Felicity, squeezing his hand as she repeated her promises in that one word. "Sleep."

* * *

**AN2: Please continue to feed the Muse with your follows, favs, and reviews if you think it deserves them - thank you! :D**


	31. Sleep

**Chapter 31 – Sleep**

**AN: Apologies in advance for the mistakes that may be in this. I'm posting without the talents of my wonderful beta Rennie75 due to my time constraints this one time. Thanks for still doing a read through Rennie and to KenyanCougar for your help too! Very grateful!**

**As always every single one of you who has reviewed has my grateful thanks! 31 chapters in 42 days, 863 reviews, 452 follows, and 225 favourites - to say I've been blown away by your support would be a huge understatement! THANK YOU ALL SO INCREDIBLY MUCH!**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_Oliver looked at them and his eyes were bright with unshed grateful tears, his Team, his sister taking her place on the Team. He looked to Felicity,__his girl,__ she had given her approval to Thea and accepted her into their Team and therefore the others did too. The last thing that Oliver was aware of as he closed his eyes was Felicity, squeezing his hand as she repeated her promises in that one word. "Sleep."_

**_Mixed POV_**

When Oliver woke up the next morning he was surprised to see that light was already beginning to reach into the cave. He was the first of the group to wake, but had still slept a lot longer than he was used to doing. He immediately noticed that not only was he still holding hands with Felicity, but now she was lying against him and his arm was around her. He very carefully turned and looked over to the entrance to see Roy actively on watch, while Sara was sitting next to him leaning back against the cave wall clearly in a light doze. Oliver arched an eyebrow questioningly.

"Sara decided it was safe for her to doze a little once dawn broke. She and I traded off from Diggle a while back. This was Sara's second watch, although Diggle did a longer stint. We decided to let you sleep for once since you seemed so … peaceful." Roy answered Oliver in a very low and quiet voice, so as not to disturb or wake anyone else.

He had known straight away what Oliver was querying _why didn't we wake him, how many shifts did they take, and did I keep watch on my own through the night. _Roy realized that even a month ago he probably would have taken offense at the last, would have hated the query over whether or not he was capable of doing it alone. Yet now, here, after the commitment each of the Team had shown to him, both individually and as group, Roy discovered that he didn't mind. He realized that he actually trusted them, all of them, and that surprised Roy as he found it very hard to trust anyone. _Trusting is asking for trouble in the Glades._

Oliver didn't miss the slight hesitation before Roy had said 'peaceful', nor did he miss the slight uplift at the corner of Roy's mouth, and he knew that Roy had been trying to hide a grin. Looking back down at Felicity though Oliver discovered he couldn't object. He knew that he had slept longer and better than he had for a long time and he was forced to draw the conclusion that she was the reason, _his girl. _Somehow she grounded him, kept his mind from wondering back into the dark depths of his past, and he knew that it was her light driving out his dark – _just as she had promised_.

Very carefully Oliver eased himself away from Felicity, being careful to make sure he didn't wake her in the process, and went to join Roy and Sara at the cave entrance. As he sat down Sara instantly woke, sensing the movement, only to calm again a second later as she realized it was him.

"Plans for the day." Oliver said making it clear that it was not a question but something that they needed to sort. "First priority has got to be hunting, we're running pretty low on food.",

"Agreed." Sara said. "Do you want to take Roy with you again?"

Sara could see that Oliver did not want to say anything about everything he had told the others last night and that was fine with her as she had no wish to discuss it either. Sara had been thinking about it half the night while taking her shifts at keeping watch and she agreed that it had been necessary to be so blunt with them. At the same time she was relieved that Oliver had done his best to keep her out of it. He had managed to keep them so focused on everything that he was revealing that nobody had stopped to think about her story or dared to ask what had happened to her during her time away. Sara just hoped that that continued to be the case, even though rationally she knew that sooner or later somebody was going to ask something that she would not want them to know.

"Yes. Roy I've got some other things we need to do at the same time and your strength is going to be useful." Oliver said cryptically.

Roy looked bemused at that but could see from Oliver's face that he was not going to answer any questions so instead Roy just nodded his agreement. _After everything they've done to show their trust in me, it's time I show my trust in them too._

Sara grinned very slightly, suspecting that she knew exactly what it was that Oliver had in mind and knew that if he could do it, it would definitely help them all and improve their chances against Slade. She raised an eyebrow incrementally while Roy was looking at Oliver so that he wouldn't see it and was pleased to see the smallest flicker of a grin from him in response. Before they could say anything else though, Oliver and Sara turned as one, hearing Felicity's murmur.

Roy wanted to follow their look, to see what it was that had caught their attention but he knew that it was important for one of them to remain on watch. _Oliver's put his trust in me, they all have, time to prove I deserve it. They'll tell me what's going on if I need to know._

Sara could see that Felicity was still asleep, she had turned over and was reaching out to where Oliver had been lying, clearly searching for him in her sleep. She glanced quickly at Oliver, wanting to see his reaction, and she was amused and happy to see the flicker of love that passed over his face. _When is he going to realize how much he loves her, more importantly when is he going to act on it?_

Felicity stretched her arm out as her fingers were still searching for Oliver, after a few seconds she woke, her concern for him clear to all. "Oliver?" She spoke questioningly, concernedly, unsure of where he was as she was not fully awake yet. However, through the other emotions it was still easy to discern the love she had for him from her voice alone and Felicity relaxed again as soon as her eyes found his.

Out of the corner of his eye Roy caught Sara's smile as she looked at him, sharing her amusement at the pair who were so clearly devoted to each other. He didn't dare comment or turn any further though as he knew that his own thoughts would be showing just as clearly on his face – he had yet to master the poker face that Sara and Oliver could be so good at when they chose.

"How much sleep have you had Roy?" Oliver queried, effectively preventing any comments as he had seen a hint of Roy's face even though the younger man had tried to keep it turned away from him. He needed to know if Roy was good to go, or if it would be better to let him get a little more sleep of his own before they headed out. While he knew that it was best to hunt early if possible, it was more important to be safe and that meant both of them being fully alert.

"I slept while Diggle was on watch so have had maybe three hours?" Roy said, understanding what Oliver was really getting at. "I'm good to go though if you want?"

"Go lie down, we can wait another hour, it's still early enough and I need you fully alert out there." Oliver said. _Don't want to leave it too late to hunt – but he needs to be as alert as possible first. _Roy nodded his agreement and understanding before lying down and promptly dropping off to sleep.

"Sara, you too. I'm fine here." Oliver said, fully expecting her to argue and not the least bit surprised when she did.

"I'm fine too Oliver, don't need any more sleep." Sara replied but her tone was unconvincing to Oliver's experienced ears.

"I've got this Sara, we'll be fine, it's your turn to sleep." Diggle spoke from behind the pair, having woken when Roy went to lie down.

"You sure John?" Sara queried, needing to be sure before she would be able to truly rest.

"Yes. We've both had more than you have okay. Go on." Diggle finished with a smile.

"He's right Sara. You need to rest just as much as the rest of us." Felicity added, her words lending their weight to those of Oliver and Diggle and persuading Sara that she too needed to sleep.

Sara nodded gratefully before going to lay down and give way to the weariness within. She was more tired and emotionally drained from the events of the previous night than she wanted to admit, even to herself, and she knew that they were right. She needed sleep if she was to get through the day as alert as they needed to be.

Diggle and Felicity both took their places next to Oliver and within minutes it was just the three of them awake, keeping watch over the others and the outside world. They sat in companionable silence a while longer, none of them feeling the need to speak, each content to just be together. After a while Felicity subtly shifted her hand so that her fingers were touching Oliver's and she left them like that as she started to speak. She met his eyes and kept that contact going, knowing straight away what was going through Oliver's mind.

"They needed to know Oliver. You did the right thing. Yes they will have more questions now but that doesn't mean you have to answer them. You told them what you had to, they needed to understand to take it seriously enough. Diggle and I, we've seen your nightmares a lot longer. We know your scars. We've heard some of what happened and we've seen the way you react when you come round after being injured. We may not know this Island but we know _you_ and we are a part of this with you. We know the risks of being a part of Team Arrow. Every one of us has experienced that – but they haven't. They don't know. Even having seen what Slade did to you both, hearing what he did you to with that generator, it still wasn't real enough to them. You could see from their faces that all of this was like a bad dream to them – especially to Laurel." Felicity spoke gently and kindly, reassuring Oliver and letting him know that the Team was with him on this. Telling him he had done the right thing with her body language and her face as much as with her words and tone. Letting him know that she had accepted Laurel's apology.

"We were protecting them too much. You had to let them see all that emotion and see the toll on you that all of this has had in order for them to truly begin to understand – and it's working. Thea proved that last night when she became part of the Team. Yes she's got a long way to go, they all have, but she's trying now and I have to believe that they all will too." Felicity finished speaking with conviction in her voice.

"Thank you." Oliver said knowing that although he wanted to say more, nothing else was needed. He continued to look her in the eyes and was grateful once again for their unspoken communication. For the way that, without needing to say the words, Felicity knew that he was thanking her for her support, her back up, for letting him know he had done the right thing, and that it was okay to have shown so much emotion and revealed so much of himself, of his past. Above all though he was thanking her for Thea. For welcoming his sister into Team Arrow and for confirming her place as part of their Team.

* * *

**AN2: Hope you enjoyed this lighter chapter after the previous two :) Please don't forget to let me know what you think - thank you! :D**


	32. Heart

**Chapter 32 –**** Heart**

**AN: So my wonderful beta Rennie75 is now on holiday – have a fabulous time my dear! – and TheOddManOut has been kind enough to agree to cover as beta on this one for Rennie, thank you so very much for your help! Kenyan Cougar is also going to be casting her eye over this for me, thank you hun! All mistakes however remain completely my own.**

**As always, thoughts are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

"_Thank you." Oliver said knowing that although he wanted to say more, nothing else was needed. He continued to look her in the eyes and was grateful once again for their unspoken communication. For the way that, without needing to say the words, Felicity knew that he was thanking her for her support, her back up, for letting him know he had done the right thing, and that it was okay to have shown so much emotion and revealed so much of himself, of his past. Above all though he was thanking her for Thea. For welcoming his sister into Team Arrow and for confirming her place as part of their Team._

_**Moira's POV**_

Moira woke to the sound of her son's voice calling Roy's name quietly. She felt on edge as she had slept poorly, unable to get Oliver's words out of her head, and she was still thinking of them now. She looked to Oliver and was surprised to note that he looked well rested. More so than she had seen him look for a long time. It appeared that he, at least, had slept well and she couldn't help but wonder why. It hadn't escaped her attention during the night that, as she had tossed and turned, Oliver and Felicity had been lying together, closer together than they were while awake. Moira realized as she thought about it that the tension that had become a part of Oliver's natural state, awake or sleeping, had been missing while he was asleep last night. _Was Felicity the reason, is she why he slept?_

She noticed that Thea was waking up now too and saw that her daughter didn't look any more rested than she felt herself. Moira had been so proud of Thea last night for visibly joining Oliver's Team and showing that she was with them in protecting him. She could clearly see that Thea was now with that Team and it seemed that they had accepted her into it. She had been surprised to notice that the others had hesitated for half a minute, they had not responded until Felicity had and once she had given a nod of approval and thanks to Thea the others had copied her. It seemed that while Team Arrow might be Oliver's Team, Felicity was the one who held all the sway within it. Everything she had observed over the past few days about the Team and the way they interacted and behaved held up that conclusion.

Until last night however, Moira had been unable to make any sense of it, not understanding how an IT girl who must surely be tucked up safely behind the scenes could be the controlling center of the Team itself. But last night had revealed just how wrong she had been, yet again, in her assumptions about the young blonde. It would seem now that there was nothing Felicity could not do. She had been stunned to hear that Felicity had saved Sara's life, taking a bullet in the process, and seeing the scar had only made it more real. Felicity was braver than she could have imagined and as Moira looked at her she suddenly understood why Felicity seemed to be the center of the Team. _She's not just its center, she's its __heart__. She keeps them together and they look to her for guidance. Yet despite everything they've dealt with that young woman hasn't been jaded by it, hasn't become cold or distant, her heart stays true, _Moira realized as she thought about all the criminals she knew from the news that Team Arrow had dealt with.

Thinking further back Moira remembered that Oliver had started to open up more after she had shot the Vigilante, _shot my son,_and as she now knew that that was when Felicity had truly become a part of the Team Moira also realized that Felicity must have been the reason for that. _She is the reason he is as whole now as he is, that he has come back to us as far as he has. I owe her not just for my son's life but for his soul too it would seem. No wonder Sara made that comment about Felicity being remarkable the other day, she truly is._

Looking back to Thea again Moira was worried about her, even as she was proud of her, and knew that Thea was struggling just as much as she was with what Oliver had revealed. It hadn't seemed to be as much of a surprise to Thea though Moira had noted, and she wondered just how much Thea had already known about her brother and when it was that they had talked. It had been clear that she hadn't known anything before they were captured and stranded on this Island after all. She resolved to try to talk to her at some point during the day and wanted to let her daughter know that she was there for her too and that Thea could talk to her if she wanted to. Moira didn't find talking about emotional matters easy, hadn't done so for many years now, but she was determined to be there for her daughter – _and for Oliver too if he will let me._

While Moira had been thinking, everybody else had begun to stir too and they were in varying states of wakefulness. It appeared that none of them were well rested and, for the first time, it seemed that Oliver was the most rested one of the group – he and Felicity seemed to be the only ones who had slept well for any length of time. She knew that the other Team Members had been taking turns in keeping watch while they slept so they had had a limited amount of sleep too. Moira felt guilty for the fact that none of them were able to get a full night's sleep because of the need to keep watch so as to protect the rest of the group, even as she knew that none of them would even query it. Diggle was ex-military and so would have been more than used to keeping watch she knew, and whatever it was that Sara was, had become, it was clear she was equally used to it. Moira knew that Roy was from the Glades and from a rough area even within there from what Thea had previously said, so she doubted that he would be unused to broken sleep either. Oliver rarely slept for any length of time _unless he is next to Felicity it would appear _and so she knew that he wouldn't be getting any less sleep than usual by keeping watch. Nevertheless, she still regretted the necessity for them to all do it even while she recognized and accepted the fact that it truly _was_necessary.

**_Mixed POV_**

Once they were all awake Oliver addressed the group briefly. He could see that none of them had slept well and knew the reason why, but he was not prepared to spend time acknowledging it or talking about it now, they needed to get going to hunt. He knew they weren't going to be happy with the news that there was no food for now either, but again he didn't have time to deal with it at the moment.

"When we checked the traps last night there was nothing there so I'mgoing out to check them again and to hunt for food. Roy will be coming with me and we will be back as soon as we can, but I would expect we will be gone for at least a few hours. Until then you will have to make do with water. Sara and Diggle will continue to work with you on your training skills and Thea I would like you to alternate that with doing some more strengthening work with the water please."

"Thank you Oliver I'm sure we'll be fine. It's not as if it will hurt us to miss the odd meal anyway. Be careful out there both of you, stay safe." Walter had instantly noticed the looks on some of the faces at the mention of no food and knew it was important to support Oliver and the Team, it was hardly their fault that the traps had not caught anything after all.

He remembered back to when he had been held by Merlyn and realized that although he had been hungry a lot of the time there, and the food had been of poor quality and certainly less than appetising, he had at least had food provided. Walter had never been actually starving or been purposely starved, unlike Oliver, and he was not about to let anyone make any ill thought out comments about the food provisions. He knew that Oliver and the others were endeavouring to provide for them the best they could and it was important for the rest of them to show their appreciation of those endeavours.

Oliver met Walter's eyes and nodded, appreciative of his support and knowing that his step-father would have some understanding of what it was like to eat little and infrequently. He knew that Merlyn had not starved him, but he had seen how much weight Walter had lost and so knew that he had not been well fed either. Consequently, he was not surprised that Walter should be the first to support him on this, he would understand the differences in behavior that can come about when people experience real hunger. He just hoped that none of the others would need to become familiar with that fact too.

Without waiting for any further comments Oliver picked up his bow and nearly empty quiver, noting that he would need to make more arrows and they would need to gather the materials for that this morning as well. _Will be good for Thea and Roy to learn how to make them anyway._He passed Roy one kitbag and his knife, knowing that it was important for Roy to be armed too, before heading out of the cave to fill two water bottles to take with them. Roy gave Thea a brief hug and followed after him and Oliver noted that Felicity had followed them too. Oliver filled the water bottles before returning to the others and passed them to Roy to go in the kitbag.

"Be careful." Felicity said softly to Oliver before looking to Roy to include him in her next words. "Stay safe." She had repeated Walter's words not knowing what else to say, but knowing that within their Team the words themselves werenot important.

"You too." Roy replied as he turned and gave Thea a last hug before walking away.

Oliver just nodded at Felicity as he squeezed her shoulder gently and headed out too, quickly taking the lead.

* * *

**AN2: Incidentally, I use British spellings for Walter as he is British and try to use American spellings for the rest on purpose to help keep them in character even in their thoughts, it's my little quirk :D**

**Please be kind enough to let me know what you think, thank you! :D**


	33. The Hero

**Chapter 33 – The Hero**

**AN: Huge thanks go to KenyanCougar for betaing this one for me whilst Rennie75 is on holiday, greatly appreciated hun! All mistakes are mine however :) I am so grateful to all of you who have taken the time to follow, favourite, and/or review - you are truly amazing & I value every single one of you, including the Guests & those with PM's disabled I can't reply to personally - thank you, thank you, thank you! Over 915 reviews now - WOW!**

**Shameless plug for both Rennie75 and KenyanCougar who have now published original fics on FF's sister site FictionPress. Please check them out and let them know what you think. You can find them at (remove spaces) www .fictionpress u/ 979360 /Rennie75 and www .fictionpress u /979411 /kenyancougar Thank you!**

**As always, thoughts are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_Oliver just nodded at Felicity as he squeezed her shoulder gently and headed out too, quickly taking the lead._

**_Felicity's POV_**

After Oliver and Roy headed out Felicity gathered up the remaining water bottles and went with Thea to fill them back up. She knew that Thea was really struggling to deal with what Oliver had said last night and that Thea wasn't the only one. She hadn't failed to notice the circles under the eyes of the non-Team members, the way they all seemed wary this morning and were finding it hard to make eye contact. Felicity had expected this, had known they would react that way from the moment that Oliver had started speaking about a little of what he'd been through, just as she knew it wasn't only what he had said but _how_ he had said it that had affected them so badly. Oliver rarely let emotion into his voice and when he did it was deliberate and controlled. Felicity had only heard him speaking like that, that completely unrestrained, once before and that had been when he'd used that same phrase to Diggle and her. _These, these were five years, _**_five years where nothing good happened!_**

She remembered how hard it had been for her to hear those words the very first time and she had already known so much, worked with Oliver as part of the Team for so long by that point. She had seen his scars so many times that she didn't even register them anymore, had helped to patch him back together after so many injuries, even saved his life – just as he had hers. Felicity had known Oliver far better than anyone else by that point, only Diggle had known him as well, and yet even so it had broken her heart to hear him speak like that. _So how much harder must it be for them? They have barely had a couple of days to learn all this. Talk about a paradigm shift!_

Felicity knew it was hardly surprising that they would be struggling and would not have slept well. She knew that she would need to do something about that, she was going to have to talk to them and, much as she would not go behind Oliver's back, it might be easier for them to talk without him there. Felicity resolved to talk to Diggle and Sara and let them know what she was thinking before doing anything. She knew she would not be able to wait long though as Oliver and Roy may only be gone for a couple of hours. She gave half of the now filled bottles to Thea to carry and took the rest herself as they rejoined the others.

"Thea, would you mind going and making a start on getting things set up while I have a word with Diggle and Sara please? Felicity asked. She had already seen the looks that they were both giving her and knew that they needed to speak in private as soon as they could. Thea nodded her agreement, she was quieter than normal but still trying to pretend that she was okay and Felicity was impressed with the way that Thea was trying so hard.

Sara, Diggle, and Felicity stood a ways off from the others so that they could still be fully aware of everything that was going on, but at the same time could not be overheard. With Sara's hearing, even if they were all somehow looking in the wrong direction, there was no way that one of the others would be able to approach undetected and Felicity was relieved for that. As annoying as that ninja hearing could be at times, right now she was very grateful for it.

"You agree then?" Felicity started, knowing instantly from their faces and body language that they were worried about the reactions following everything that had happened the previous night. When they had made the plan to show the danger of the nightmares they had not counted on Laurel being hurt and causing Oliver to let rip like that and now all three knew that they needed to do some damage control.

"Yeah, we gotta calm them down or they are never going to be able to concentrate. You can see they want to, Oliver definitely got through to them and he was right to be as blunt as he was, but they are too upset right now to be able to focus." Diggle confirmed as Sara nodded her agreement.

"Looks like it's time for me to speak to them all then." Felicity said, making it clear it was not a question.

"You sure you want to be the one to do that?" Sara asked and Felicity appreciated the concern in her voice.

"No. But we need me to. They have to be able to move on. We need them to be focused and not distracted – and we _need_ to stop them looking at Oliver like _that_." Felicity didn't need to specify for them to know she was talking about the looks of pity they had all noticed coming from some of the others.

"That's not gonna be easy." Diggle stated with a sigh.

"I know, but Oliver needs that to stop which means that I need to make sure that it does." Felicity said taking a few calming breaths herself as she tried to work out just how exactly she planned on doing that.

"Are you sure?" Sara queried again and Felicity knew that it wasn't from a lack of confidence and that Sara was simply trying to protect her and to let her know it didn't have to be her.

"Oliver needs this. There's no choice to make." Felicity answered and for her it really was that simple. _Just as it is for Oliver._

**_Mixed POV_**

Diggle had stopped the training that was only just beginning and gathered them all back to the section of the clearing where they had their meals and where Felicity was standing waiting with Sara. He had been glad to see that the others had at least tried to start to train, it showed that they were taking things more seriously as they had all hoped, now they just had to prevent them from being so distracted at the same time. _Just hope Felicity knows how to do that._

Felicity took a couple of steadying breaths as Oliver had taught her. She was glad to have Sara and Diggle standing on either side of her, _flanking positions Digg calls it, _showing her their unspoken support as she faced the others. She stayed quiet for a second meeting each their eyes in turn and ensuring that she had their full attention. She took one more breath, letting it out slowly before starting to speak.

"Five years. Five years where nothing good happened." Just as she'd known it would, that phrase had instantly gotten their attention and they were now completely focused on her. "I remember the first time I heard Oliver say those words. The look on his face, the anger and the anguish in his voice at the same time. It nearly broke my heart and I already knew who Oliver was at that point. I had been a part of Team Arrow for a bit under a year then, but it was still hard for me to get those words out of my head, to be able to focus on anything else, and for a little while they distracted me."

Diggle was watching their faces as Felicity spoke and was reassured to see the nods of agreement. He should have known she'd find a way to empathize with them, to let them know that she truly understood what they were feeling.

"I know how hard it is to get past those words. Oliver rarely lets any emotion show on any level, so for you to hear everything he told you last night, to hear him speak without holding back at all - especially after seeing his reaction to being touched when in a nightmare – of course that's going to get to you. Those words are going to be going around in your minds for a long time to come I suspect. But even so you still need to find a way to get past them, to get past the pity you are feeling right now. Oliver doesn't need your pity and he certainly doesn't want it." Felicity's voice had got stronger and slightly harsher while she had been speaking.

Diggle cut in, adding his own memories as he knew they were still struggling with the secrets Oliver had kept from them. "Do you think it's been easy for Oliver, to keep all these secrets? I remember telling him that somebody once told me that secrets have weight, the more you keep the harder it is to keep moving. You know that he said? 'You see how hard I work out.' Keeping these secrets from you, it wasn't something he wanted to do. He has never wanted to lie to you but he did it to keep you safe. Knowing who he is is dangerous for everyone concerned."

Felicity nodded her thanks to Diggle as she started speaking again. "You need to stop focusing on what has happened to Oliver, what he has been through, his past. You need to stop looking at his scars as signs of all the wounds he's incurred, of all the awful things that he has been through. See them instead as symbols of the strength that he has now because of those experiences. As reminders of the things he can do, and of the amazing man that he has become because of them, because of the things he has endured. See the man who never gives up, never gives in. The man who, armed with only a bow and quiver full of arrows, can go up against arms dealers with loaded automatic weapons and win! The man who is always there for those who really need him, no matter what."

Felicity's initial kindness was turning to bluntness now as she continued to press her point home, but she knew that she needed to continue, they needed to know just what Oliver could do, what he _would_ do to be there for those who needed him. At the same time however, Felicity wanted to be careful to not give away anything that Oliver hadn't told them about yet. She would never betray his secrets. So instead she chose to highlight an incident that they would easily be able to work out for themselves if they stopped to think about it.

"Thea, do you remember when Oliver disappeared while you were waiting for the verdict from your Mom's trial?" Felicity didn't miss the stunned look in Thea's eyes and knew that Thea was now realizing that Oliver must have had a far better reason than she'd thought at the time. "Count Vertigo was back and he was holding me hostage at QC. He was going to kill me with a huge overdose of Vertigo. Diggle was one of the ones who had been poisoned by the Count already and he was barely able to see straight or get up. Oliver hated to leave you, hated to risk not being there for your verdict Moira, but he knew that I was dead if he didn't go. He took out the Count, saving my life and being shot in the arm in the process. Yet despite that he barely even allowed time to put a temporary dressing on the wound and get changed before rushing back in time for the verdict." Felicity paused, she knew she was getting through to them but she was unsure as to how to go on from there so she decided to simply speak from her heart.

"Don't see the past, the bad stuff; see the man before you, the man under the Hood – **the Hero**."

* * *

**AN2: Please be incredibly helpful & take the time to review, it really does help my writing to know what you think & do & don't like. Thank you!**


	34. Focus

**Chapter 34 - Focus**

**AN: Huge thanks go to KenyanCougar for her wonderful beta job in Rennie75's absence, thank you honey! I am also extremely grateful to you all for your support & reviews & my thanks to those Guests & with PM's deactivated so I can't reply personally to each of you. In particular to Guest33 for your outstanding support - wish you'd set up a pen name so I could PM you!**

**AN2: As always, thoughts are in italics – as are memories :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_"Don't see the past, the bad stuff; see the man before you, the man under the Hood – _**_the Hero_**_."_

**_Mixed POV_**

After Felicity finished speaking she purposefully left the clearing and went to pick up one of the batons, throwing the other to Diggle at the same time to make it clear that it was time to train. She knew that the others would have questions again of course, but it was better for them to have the chance to think over what they had said for now. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Thea filling up the water bowl and slapping it for all she was worth and it wasn't hard to figure out she was channeling all of her emotions into doing it. _Good, now if the others can focus their emotions in the same way we can start to get somewhere._

Diggle stood in their beginning stance facing Felicity. He hadn't initially been sure whether or not to let them ask questions or talk things through after Felicity had spoken to them, but she clearly thought it was time to get back to their training and he was willing to follow her lead on these things. _She gets this whole feelings thing way better than I do anyway. How is it she always finds the right words to say?_

Diggle started going through the basic katas with her, both warming up their muscles up as they practiced the calming familiarity of the moves, before moving on to the more complicated katas. He was impressed to see how far she had come and he could see that she was letting out all her own emotions by focusing them on her training. Her hits were a lot harder than usual today and he was pleased to see that she was putting all of her anger, her frustration, her worries for Oliver, and everything else to good use in the way they had been trying to teach her. Diggle could see from Felicity's face that she was finally coming to understand the stress relief that sparring could be for them. Without her computers there to distract her or to use to blow off steam, she was putting all of her considerable brain power into fighting instead.

Sara was training with her Dad, leaving Laurel to spar with Walter again. She could see that he had a lot of questions and she suspected that many of them would be about her own time away. Sara knew he had seen some of her own scars, but not all of them and right now she was glad of that fact. The last thing she wanted to do was have to explain them to him, even though he already knew about The League he didn't know anything about what she had had to do, what her training had involved – or how many she had killed just because she had been told to. Oliver had killed willingly enough to survive or to take down those who could not be allowed to continue. She had killed purely because The League said that person had to die, she had not stopped to ask questions but had simply done as she had been ordered. Her Dad might have forgiven her a lot but she did not want to see his face when eventually he found out about that.

Every time Lance tried to open his mouth to attempt to say something to Sara or to ask her something she hit him hard giving him a look that - even without the mind-reading skills that the Team were clearly blessed with - he could clearly tell meant focus! She wasn't giving him any leeway at all even though it was abundantly clear she was holding back hugely in her own skills and he didn't envy Oliver and the others one little bit for training against her full force. He still couldn't help wondering what the hell his little girl had been through to change her and turn her into such a deadly fighter. _Was she tortured too?_

Finally Sara gave a sigh and spoke, even though she completely refused to stop or even slow the training. "No Dad I was not tortured like Oliver was while I was on the Island. Yes I do have a lot of scars. Yes I became a killer to survive too. My past is very different in many ways to his and even Oliver does not know much of what I went through, just as I don't know the intimate details of a lot of what he went through. Yes I do know you're here for me, but no I do not want to talk about it." She was careful to prevent her voice from being harsh as she spoke, but at the same time she was just as careful to be blunt enough to make it clear that she would not entertain any more questions right now – spoken or unspoken. As she continued to spar with him Sara couldn't help but wish that Oliver had still been around to hear Felicity's speech to the others, she knew how much it would have meant to him. He would have been far away by that point though, she had been able to hear how fast he and Roy had been travelling as Felicity had gone in the other direction with Thea and the water bottles.

**_Laurel's POV_**

Laurel was struggling to accept Felicity's words even as she acknowledged the wisdom of them. Both Oliver's words and Felicity's were going round and round in her head, not helping the headache that she still had from being knocked over and banging her head last night. She had now acknowledged that it was her own fault that she had been hurt and she was embarrassed that the Team had felt it necessary to go through all that just to get through to her how dangerous things could be. As much as Oliver might have said that none of them except Walter and Moira were taking it seriously enough, she knew full well that he had meant her above all the others. She was still upset at the way he had let rip at her though and she was angry at him for doing it in front of everyone.

Her feelings about everything that was happening were completely mixed up and she was so confused. She wished more than anything for some quiet time and space on her own to be able to work through everything. However, every time during the previous evenings that she had tried to leave the others to find a bit of secluded space of her own where she could think, either Sara, Diggle, or Roy had stopped her. She resented Diggle and Roy for getting in her way, even as she appreciated their efforts in trying to keep her safe. She hated Sara for all the secrets she had kept and for ordering her around continually, even as she was so thankful and happy to have her sister back alive and with her once more.

More than anything else though, her feelings about Felicity and Oliver were utterly confused. She knew now that she owed Felicity for Sara's life - and that the blonde had saved Oliver's life too. She could see how Felicity seemed to ground Oliver and she hadn't failed to notice during the night how closely the two had slept together, nor that he had slept peacefully for the first time with her hand in his, his arm around her. She hadn't missed the doe-eyed way that Felicity drooled over Oliver, she was clearly in love with him. Laurel had also noticed the way that Oliver looked to Felicity for guidance, or the way that he (and all the Team) had waited for Felicity's response to Thea joining them last night before he had responded himself. Somehow, it seemed that even though Oliver was The Arrow, Felicity was the one who was in charge of Team Arrow.

She resented the way that Oliver acted around Felicity and couldn't understand why he would talk to _her _so much, why he would be so honest with _her_, why it was _her _guidance that Oliver looked for. _He used to be _my _boyfriend, my lover! He as good as told me that it was his thoughts of _me _that got him through all the horrors he went through here when he showed me his scars that first time. Yet when _I_ was hurt last night it was _her _that he was worried about, _her _that he defended immediately. _Me _that he had a go at. _Laurel was hurt and angry by that and as she was sparring she put every ounce of those feelings into every single blow, catching Walter hard more than once. At the same time, she was distracted by her thoughts and as Walter finally swept her legs out from underneath her, causing her to land on her back, hard, Laurel was forced to admit to herself that she was jealous of Felicity and the relationship that she had with Oliver.

She told Walter she needed a drink and went to take a break for five minutes to try to think things through a little more. Laurel was careful to stay inside the area that Sara and the Team seemed willing to allow them to be in, the last thing she wanted right now was for them to stop her yet again. Once more her mind went back over Oliver's words – and over Felicity's.

_- Five __years where I was captured, tortured, beaten more times than I can even remember.__  
__- You need to stop focusing on what has happened to Oliver, what he has been through, his past._

_- I was cut with swords, stabbed, shot with arrows and with bullets. I was kept in cages, I was starved, I was shocked with a generator!__  
__- You need to stop looking at his scars as signs of all the wounds he's incurred, of all the awful things that he has been through._

_- I saw people I cared about being killed. I watched the woman I loved being murdered and I couldn't do a damned thing to stop it!__  
__- See them instead as symbols of the strength that he has now because of those experiences._

_- Every single moment of every day I was on edge, my life completely at risk.__  
__- As reminders of the things he can do, and of the amazing man that he has become because of them, because of the things he has endured._

_- This is not play, this is not pretend, this is _real_.__  
__- See the man who never gives up, never gives in._

_- You have all of us here with you – me, Sara, the whole Team, looking after you. Sara and I, we didn't have any of that! We weren't even together for most of the time.  
- The man who, armed with only a bow and quiver full of arrows, can go up against arms dealers with loaded automatic weapons and win!_

_- I became a killer just to survive, I had to!__  
__- The man who is always there for those who really need him, no matter what._

_- You have to know, __you _have _to understand - these were five years, __**five years where nothing good happened**__!__  
__- Don't see the past, the bad stuff; see the man before you, the man under the Hood – _**_the Hero_**_._

Finally Laurel was forced to conclude that both Oliver _and_ Felicity had been right, much as it galled her. They did all need to know just what he had been through, the horrendous realities of those five years so that they would understand exactly how dangerous life was here. Oliver had known it hadn't been real to them, she had felt like she was trapped in some nightmare - but no nightmare could ever be as real as Oliver's emotions had been last night! Laurel didn't think that she had _ever_ heard Oliver speak with that much anger and hurt, pain and anguish, love and loss in his voice. _The things he has been through – they would have destroyed anyone else but Felicity is right, they have only made him stronger. __His scars are signs of that strength, like badges of honor. _

Finally Laurel knew that that was what she had to see, to focus on – the man who never gives up, never gives in – the Hero that Oliver had become.

* * *

**AN3: Quick note to those of you who are Guests, much as I am _always _willing to try to answer your questions, unless you register & sign in I can't PM you to answer, sorry.**

**AN4: Please be kind enough to take the time to review - your thoughts really do help to make my work better, thank you loads! :-D**


	35. Hunting

**Chapter 35 - Hunting**

**AN: Wow, thank you all so very much - over 1000 Reviews! I am speechless! As an extra thank you to you I've written my longest chapter so far. Really hope you will enjoy it!**

**(Sorry for the slight update delay, I was finishing off one of my other fics 'Questions' & that is now complete.) KenyanCougar is still covering as beta for Rennie75, thank you so much honey - you've been a real star on this one! All mistakes are still mine though hehe :-D**

**As always, thoughts are in italics – as are memories :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_Finally Laurel knew that that was what __she had to see, to focus on – the man who never gives up, never gives in – the Hero that Oliver had become._

**_Mixed POV_**

Oliver and Roy left the others and were moving fast towards the first traps. Oliver knew that it was likely the Team would need to talk to the others to stop them from being so distracted after last night, but he also knew that he could trust them to deal with that and so he put it out of his head for now. Hunting was his first priority as they needed food. He was pleased to see that Roy's pace was improving, while he was still nowhere near the speed that Oliver could travel at when parkouring, Roy was doing far better than Oliver had during his own early days here he remembered.

Roy followed Oliver to the area he had chosen for hunting, noting that Oliver was not stopping to check the traps on the way. He assumed that Oliver was focused on hunting while it was still fairly early in the day, but as Oliver did not initiate any conversation Roy did not start one either. He had already inadvertently caused Oliver to lose one animal on the day that Oliver had found him in the Mirakuru cave and he wanted to be certain not to repeat that mistake.

This time it took Oliver a lot longer to find anything and he was starting to get concerned when finally they came across a small group of pheasants. Oliver was quick to nock and loose three of the four remaining arrows, killing three of the pheasants in turn. He didn't want to use his final arrow unless he had to and he was holding it back in reserve in case Slade came upon them again. He knew it would take far more than one arrow to stop him of course, but it might just give them the distraction that they would need for Roy at least to get away. Oliver indicated the pheasants to Roy with his head and Roy quickly went to pick them all up. Oliver couldn't help thinking back to his own early days on the Island with Yao Fei when he had been the one to collect the bloody corpses. Roy caught a slight hint of a smile ghosting over Oliver's face and lifted an eyebrow questioningly.

"Just thinking back to when I was first here with Yao Fei and it was my job to collect the dead animals that he had just shot." Oliver explained. "I suggested that I shoot them while he collected them instead so he just offered me the bow and an arrow. I had never used a bow before, although I had seen Thea's school one a few times. I was pretty impressed with myself for managing to nock the arrow – right up until I loosed it and it went completely wide of any kind of target, pretty much like your first couple of shots." Oliver finished with another slight grin.

Oliver had been worried how the younger man would be coping with everyone knowing about the Mirakuru now and he wanted to do what he could to strengthen Roy's sense of place within the Team. He knew that that meant letting Roy in and being willing to share things with him and so Oliver was making an extra effort to do that when he could. He also knew that Roy was also struggling with his lack of skill and control when it came to the bow and to fighting in general, he was surrounded by others who knew so much more and were so much more skilled than he was. Oliver could remember exactly what that felt likeand he wanted to help him if he could, he knew that reminding Roy that he knew those feelings might help and so he wanted to try. From the look on Roy's face Oliver could see that Roy had understood not just what he said but also why.

"Thanks." Roy said gruffly and Oliver just nodded in response, knowing that there was no need to say anything else.

"Pass me the knife would you Roy, I'm going to cut some vines to tie the pheasants and we are going to need extras as well." Oliver said, choosing not to explain further just yet on purpose.

Roy looked quizzically at Oliver as he passed over the knife, he was unsure to start with if Oliver was inviting questions or if he wanted Roy to just accept and trust whatever he asked. As Roy looked at Oliver's face though it was clear that he was happy for Roy to query his words and so Roy was quick to take the chance to do so before Oliver changed his mind.

"What do we need the extras for?" He asked as Oliver was scaling a tree to get higher up the vines.

"Because we are going to use them to make bowstrings." Oliver elaborated as he looked back down, watching Roy's face carefully for his reaction.

"Bowstrings? But yours doesn't need a new string so unless you have another bow lying around … that's why you wanted Thea and me to learn, you have another bow?" Roy said, working it out in his own head at the same time as he was speaking.

"Not yet, but we will do soon enough." Oliver answered cryptically.

"Okayyy." Roy answered, unsure of what Oliver was planning but he knew that he would find out soon enough. As hard as it was for him, Roy was trying to trust without needing to have all of the answers and waiting until Oliver wanted to explain instead of asking constant questions was part of that. Oliver cut several long vines and threw them down to Roy who used one to tie the pheasants before placing the others in the backpack as Oliver landed at his side. No matter how many times he saw Oliver train or parkour, Roy knew he would always be amazed by the abilities he possessed.

Not for the first time, Roy was scared by the thought of what Oliver must have been through to have turned him from the careless rich playboy that he used to be into the incredibly brave, skilled, and selfless man who came back. Roy knew that Slade had played a big part in that – both as a friend and as an enemy - and that worried Roy more than he could say. Roy wasn't worried so much for himself, but was for Thea. They had only been here a few days and so far she had changed hugely, those changes had all been for the good – so far – but Roy had known Oliver long enough to see the darkness that lurked beneath and he didn't want that for Thea. If she had changed so much just by seeing the nightmares and the injuries Slade had inflicted on Oliver and Diggle, then how would she react if Slade chose to hurt her too. As far as Roy was concerned, Slade had already proved that nothing was off limits by bringing them all here and Slade had made it quite clear how much he liked mind games.

"We're going to need some wood." Oliver said as he landed. He had seen the emotions flashing over the younger man's face and both knew and shared his concerns. He knew that Roy's thoughts were of Thea and he was worried about her too. Oliver knew how strong Felicity was, he knew that her light shined brighter than ever and that with each thing they went up against, each hole he dragged her down into, she dragged him straight back out shining that light even brighter still. He had to trust that she would be okay, that her light would continue to shine through even here and so far it was.

But Thea … she was getting stronger already yes, but she was not as strong or as pure as Felicity and Oliver honestly did not know how she would deal with all of this and whatever else Slade had in store for her and them all. That was why it was so important to him to teach her how to fight, to shoot. Oliver knew that he had begun to take control again once he had been able to defend himself and those he loved. Teaching Thea archery when she already had a few basic skills and some natural talent was the fastest way he knew of giving her that control.

"We're surrounded by wood in case you haven't noticed Oliver." Roy replied pointedly and was pleased to see the responding grin on Oliver's face.

"Not the right kind though. Come on Roy we need to get a move on." Oliver replied before running off towards an area of the forest that he knew was younger. He had already noted its location during the journey from the Mirakuru cave to Yao Fei's cave and had been relieved to see it at the time. He knew that they would need younger saplings if his plan for Roy and Thea was to go ahead. Oliver didn't bother to look behind him, knowing just from the sound that Roy was following and was able to keep up, just about. Oliver was careful to choose a pace that would push Roy without completely exhausting him. It was important to improve all of their fitness levels as much as possible, but at the same time they needed to ensure they always had that safety reserve left to fight as they never knew when that would be needed.

Once Oliver finally stopped running, Roy was bemused to see him examining several different saplings and checking the wood over for something, but Roy couldn't tell what. After a few minutes of just standing around watching, his curiosity got the better of him.

"What are you doing?" Roy asked.

"Not much point having extra bowstrings if you don't have any spare bows." Oliver replied, looking up from the tree branch he was checking and he met Roy's eyes before continuing. "You and Thea each need your own bows, ones that are the right size and draw weight for each of you. I can't make you a bow that would be as good as Yao Fei's, I don't have the right equipment here for that. But I can teach you how to make a survival bow. Unlike Yao Fei's bow and my compound bow though, you won't be able to use a survival bow in a fight. They simply aren't strong enough for that, but they will still be strong enough to shoot and hunt with – and right now we need every single extra weapon that we can get."

"You can actually do that?!" Roy asked, he didn't know what he had thought Oliver had in mind, but making a bow (or two) out here – that was the last thing he had expected!

"Yes, I learned how after I thought that Slade was dead so there's a chance that he doesn't know that I can make them. We will need to make arrows too, I'm down to my last one, but they are easy and a lot quicker to make." Oliver finally started to explain properly, enjoying the looked of stunned surprise on Roy's face. "We need a long straight piece of flexible wood that is approximately a foot taller than each of you for this sort of bow. It needs to be as free of twists in the grain and of knots as possible, that's why I came here, the day we arrived I saw that there were lots of saplings here about the right age. For a survival bow you need wood that is young enough to still be flexible, but old enough to have the strength and force that's needed too without needing to be cured for a long time."

Roy didn't know why he was feeling surprised. _The amount of time I've spent around him and Felicity you think I'd have learnt by now that there's no limit to the skills they both have – or Sara's and Diggle's either for that matter! _They spent a fair while inspecting pieces of wood while Oliver discarded them for things Roy couldn't even see, before Oliver finally chose several pieces that were suitable for bow making and that hadn't broken when Roy had pushed down on them as instructed – that had proved to be the hardest part, finding a couple that would be flexible enough and yet strong enough for him to use with the Mirakuru flowing through his veins.

Oliver had insisted that they find enough for spares in case some broke during use or the wood split the wrong way. He had explained several other things as well but Roy had got lost and decided that it didn't matter as long as Oliver knew what he was doing. He figured he would take in more when Oliver was actually showing them how to make them. Roy strapped together all the wood carefully as instructed with yet more vines, before they had headed off to check the rest of the traps and get the shorter, older wood that Oliver had informed him would be needed to make the arrows.

Oliver was highly relieved when they found a rabbit had been caught in the last one of the snares, he knew that together with the pheasants that would be enough for them to eat for now. He was still worried about the days ahead if they ended up being here for any length of time. Wildlife of the edible kind had never been abundant on Lian Yu and while he had managed here before, there had rarely been more than three of them to feed and now there were ten of them. Oliver made quick work of resetting the trap again and gathering the necessary wood for the arrows and arrowheads, glad yet again that they had the three combat knives between the Team.

As they were heading back Roy could see that Oliver was still looking around a lot and it seemed that he was looking for something in particular instead of only keeping an eye out for danger. "What is it?" He asked after a while.

"Sara could use a bo staff." Oliver said knowing that Roy would instantly understand that he meant a long piece of wood that would be strong enough to use as a fighting staff. Oliver suddenly noticed a small, very thin tree with no branches on the lower seven feet of it that he thought would be suitable. "Roy, this one would be perfect for her."

"Oliver, that's an actual tree, not just a branch!" Roy pointed out bluntly.

"That's what I needed your strength for. A tree trunk will be a lot stronger and you can uproot it." Oliver replied with a smirk.

Roy rolled his eyes at him, before proceeding to uproot the tree as instructed and cut off the base and top, leaving a thin pole just over six foot long. A few times Oliver suddenly turned round, looking towards an area of higher ground that he could barely see through the trees. Roy could feel the tension that was now flowing off Oliver and loath as he was to interrupt whatever it was Oliver was doing or looking at, he knew it was important to be fully aware of what was going on.

"What is it Oliver?" Roy asked very quietly being careful to do his best to prevent the sound from carrying just in case – not that he was sure what it was just in case of, but if something had Oliver spooked then he knew that he needed to be careful regardless.

Oliver stayed quiet for a minute before responding, equally quietly. "Several times now I've had the feeling that we are being watched. It feels like there's someone over there." Oliver nodded in the direction of the higher ground as he spoke. "But I can't see anyone."

"An animal?" Roy queried, knowing even as he said it that an animal wouldn't have Oliver this wary.

"No, it feels different. Keep an eye out okay but make sure that you don't make it obvious." Oliver answered and Roy nodded, growing up in the Glades he knew more than enough about watching without letting the other person know you were doing it. Getting caught generally meant getting hurt after all and he had been a quick study.

"Slade?"

"Maybe. I can't see from here…" Oliver's words were cut off as a shot was fired and Oliver winced as a bullet grazed his side just above the top of his pants. Very, very faintly Oliver thought he could hear a hint of a laugh and knew that Roy had been right, it was Slade and he was still playing mind games with them. He knew that Slade had been a sniper and so could easily have killed him, killed them both then if he had wanted to. _Definitely playing mind games._

"Oliver?" Roy kept his voice low as he dove to the ground for cover. He had heard Oliver's wince and knew that he must have been shot, again.

"I'm fine Roy. It was Slade, I heard his laugh. He's gone now though." Oliver answered as he twisted to look at his side.

Roy got back up and let out a barely audible wince on Oliver's behalf when he saw the track mark and burn from where the bullet had grazed him. He knew that that _had_to hurt, even if there was no way that Oliver would ever admit to it of course. He grabbed the now nearly empty water bottle out of the kit bag and passed it to Oliver knowing that he would need to clean the wound. Oliver took it gratefully before proceeding to use it together with his Mom's handkerchief that he still had in his pocket to clean and cool the graze and burn.

"Not a word to the others okay, I don't want them to be even more worried than they already are." Oliver stated, making it clear there was no room for argument.

Roy nodded his agreement, knowing that by 'the others' Oliver was not referring to the rest of the Team. "What about Thea?" Roy asked, unsure as to whether Oliver was now including his sister in the Team or not and wanting to be certain before he risked saying anything.

Oliver nodded his understanding before he replied. "She's one of us now, she deserves to know but we'll need to be careful not to worry her too much."

"You do know there's a good chance they are going to see it anyway, right?" Roy queried, the tattered remains of Oliver's shirt were barely covering the wound as it was and as Oliver was now back to training shirtless they would see it soon enough regardless.

"I know. I'll tell them when they do, no need to worry them before we have to though." Oliver said and it was clear that the conversation was over.

Roy nodded his agreement, understanding Oliver's reasoning. He and Diggle had come back injured from Fyers' camp only two days ago and if the first thing that the others saw was injuries every time that Oliver returned then they were going to be even more scared than they already were and that would not achieve anything. If they found out later then they would already have had a chance to see that Oliver was 'fine' and not really hurt by his latest injury – not by his definition of the word hurt anyway.

Oliver handed back the water bottle, pocketing the handkerchief again and Roy replaced the bottle in the kitbag. He picked up the cut down trunk of the small tree, together with the other supplies that he had dropped upon hearing the gunshot, and followed Oliver back towards the camp. They made it back the rest of the way without incident, much to the relief of both men.

Sara looked up as she heard Oliver's whistle indicating that all was clear and she met him at the edge of the clearing. Diggle and Felicity had looked up as Sara moved, but stayed with the others training once they saw her nod that everything was okay. She saw instantly from the tension in both men that something had happened and looked at Oliver quizzically for an explanation.

"Brought you a present Sara." Oliver said loudly, seeing that the rest of the group had now also noticed their return and had stopped their training.

He could see the worry on their faces as they approached and he couldn't blame them for wanting to check that they were both okay. Oliver knew that he had seconds before they got too close so he pulled back the edge of his shirt quickly and carefully to reveal the wound, while Roy passed the tree-staff over blocking him from the sight of the others at the same time. Oliver saw the look of understanding in Sara's eyes and confirmed with a small nod that he was fine. He knew that she wanted to know what had happened but would also hear that others were getting close now and would be able to hear them talking in a few seconds. Oliver very quickly and quietly said one simple word, knowing that Sara would still be the only one who could hear and that nothing else was needed.

"Slade."

* * *

**AN2: Hope you liked it? Please be kind enough to let me know, your favs, follows, and/or reviews mean so very much to me, thank you! :-D**


	36. Teamwork

**Chapter 36 - Teamwork**

**AN: Just wanna give a big shout out to my wonderful beta KenyanCougar who's been covering for Rennie75 for me. This chapter would not have been posted tonight without her considerable help - you're remarkable my dear! **

**KenyanCougar has got the sequel up to her fic Abducted so do go and check it out - it's called Teamwork & it's brilliant! (Read Abducted first if you haven't already lol.)**

**As always, thoughts, memories, and unspoken conversations are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely - much as Rennie75, KenyanCougar, & I wish otherwise! Sigh!**

* * *

_Oliver saw the look of understanding in Sara's eyes and confirmed with a small nod that he was fine. He knew that she wanted to know what had happened but would also hear that others were getting close now and would be able to hear them talking in a few seconds. Oliver very quickly and quietly said one simple word, knowing that Sara would still be the only one who could hear and that nothing else was needed._

_"Slade."_

_**Mixed POV**_

Sara saw Oliver mouth Slade's name but before she had a chance to respond she could hear that the others were getting too close. She gave an infinitesimal nod in response so that he would know she had understood. Sara was upset and annoyed that Oliver had come back hurt yet again, but glad that it was nothing worse than the burns and graze of a bullet track. She knew that Slade was trying to play mind games with them and make them scared to leave the clearing and she was concerned about what he would do next. Sara knew that Oliver was planning to take them to see the graves of Robert, Shado, and Yao Fei tomorrow if he managed to make the bows as planned this afternoon and was worried that Slade would be doing something at the graves. She knew that Oliver shared that concern and that was why they had refused to take the others straight away.

Sara was pleased with Oliver's gift of a makeshift bo staff and knew that once she had stripped the bark and evened up the balance point a little it would make a decent weapon for her. She could see that he had left it a little longer than she liked to use and knew that he would have done that on purpose, knowing that she would need to adjust the balance and she was happy that he had remembered to allow for that. Although Sara was more than capable of fighting and holding her own with the knife or unarmed, having a bo staff made her feel more in control, just as Oliver felt that way with his bow. Sara appreciated the fact that Oliver and Roy had gone to the trouble of finding a suitable tree for her – for she could tell that it had been a tree trunk less than an hour ago.

"You uprooted a tree for me?" Sara quizzed Roy with a smile, wanting to highlight to the others how Roy was using the strength from the Mirakuru to help them.

Roy was slightly thrown by Sara's response to start with as he knew that she had recognized it was a tree trunk right away and would have known that it was nothing for him to be able to do that. But as he saw the impressed faces of the others he understood why she had said it that way and was touched at the effort she was making.

"Oliver said you needed a bo staff." Roy replied simply with a grin of his own, knowing that there was no need to say anything else. He was more pleased than he wanted to admit to see the admiring looks on the faces of the others – especially Thea – and he was grateful to Sara for orchestrating that.

Oliver gave Sara a small nod of acknowledgement too, he knew that she didn't find it any easier to deal with all the feelings than he did and so he really appreciated the fact that she was trying so hard. "We managed to catch some food, so we'll be able to eat as soon as it's cooked. There's not much prey out there though so we will need to be careful with what we have." Oliver said, needing them to understand that the food supply out here wasn't endless.

"How did you manage when you were here for five years then Oliver?" Moira asked, worried about how they were going to manage if the food ran out.

"For most of the time I was on my own or there were no more than three of us, there are ten of us now though, that's a lot harder. I told you last night that I was starved at times, well a lot of the time I went hungry or was actually starving too even when I hadn't been captured. There's a reason that Lian Yu means purgatory." Oliver finished darkly. Oliver saw the look of pity that flashed over his Mom's face as he spoke, but noticed that it disappeared as fast as it had appeared and he knew that someone _Felicity? _had definitely spoken to them all while he and Roy had been gone.

Oliver glanced at Felicity wanting to see if her face gave any clues and saw that she was looking pointedly at his side, she had clearly noticed the bullet track and he was relieved that she had not pointed it out to the rest. He could see the unspoken question in her eyes.

_What happened this time, that looks like a bullet wound?_

_It is, I'm fine though._

_How?_

_Slade. He must have his sniper rifle with him._

_You saw him? What happened?_

_Couldn't see him, heard his laugh after the bullet grazed me though. Felt like we were being watched before that, but I couldn't see any one._

_So he could have killed either of you then, he had a shot?_

_Yeah. He's playing mind games again._

_You two might be able to do this all day, but the rest of them are getting pretty hungry man. Wanna hand over that food Roy?!_

_Sorry Digg, sure. _Oliver nodded to Roy, indicating for him to pass the pheasants and the rabbit to Diggle.

Lance looked on bemused, it was clear that yet again there was an unspoken conversation going on between Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, and Roy that none of the rest of them were privy too. _No wonder this Team is so formidable, they don't even need to use words to communicate. I've never seen a Team who are _this_ close before._

Diggle took the food and went to prepare it as Roy started to take the rest of the supplies that they had gathered for the arrows and the bows over to the entrance of the cave as he wanted to make sure they were safe and out of the way until Oliver was ready to use them.

"Leave the bits for the arrows Roy, I need to make a start on them rightaway. Gonna need some feathers too Digg." Oliver instructed as walked over to the fairly flat topped rock just outside the mouth of the cave that he and Yao Fei had used when Yao Fei had taught him how to make arrows all those years ago. "Thea, can you and Roy join me please? You both need to know how to make arrows too. Sara I'm going to need your knife when you're done with the bo staff please. Diggle yours too once you're done."

Oliver proceeded to clearly and carefully demonstrate exactly how to make the arrows, including how to weave together some of the fibrous strands from the insides of the vines to lash the arrowheads to the shafts. He taught them the names of all the parts of the arrow as he went, Thea remembered a little of this already from when she had learnt archery at school, but it was all new to Roy, and both Thea and Roy took turns in making some arrows. Oliver showed them how to make the nock at the end of the shaft ready for nocking the arrows to the drawstring and he was careful to demonstrate the depth and necessity for it to be a completely straight line so that you didn't waste time when nocking the arrows.

"I want you to see what happens if the arrowhead is not symmetrical or the fletching is unbalanced." Oliver said. He knew that even though neither Thea nor Roy had said anything, they both thought he was being too particular.

Oliver picked up a few of the early attempts that Thea and Roy had made and that he had not corrected on purpose, before aiming and loosing them. The shots went wild of the bullseye even though they clipped the outside of the target, clearly showing how hard it was to fire the arrows accurately if they were not made right.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you miss." Roy said. He was surprised and thrown by just how much effect those slight inconsistencies had made to Oliver's shots.

"I don't like missing." Oliver replied, his voice hard, making it clear that he did not tolerate such failures in his own abilities. Thea and Roy both nodded quickly, understanding far more clearly now why the arrows had to be made precisely. _If even Oliver can't hit the bullseye with an uneven arrow then we've got no chance! _Thea realized.

While Oliver had been teaching Roy and Thea, Sara had been busy turning the tree trunk into a bo staff. The balance of the wood had been fairly good to start with and Sara was pleased with how suitable Oliver's choice had been for her. She carefully used the knife to strip away all the bark and smoothing off the few knots and rough points that there still were. She kept checking the balance point as she went, smoothing and thinning the wood little by little until she had a well-balanced bo staff that was the right length for her, roughly one foot taller than she was. Once she was sure that she had it right, Sara handed her knife over to Roy to speed up the arrow making, before going back to training with her new bo staff. She needed to be completely familiar with its balance and feel, needed to make it an extension of herself - just as Oliver's bow was an extension of him.

Once Sara and Diggle had both finished with their knives and handed them over, Oliver, Roy, and Thea were able to go a lot faster and after a while they had a decent size collection of arrows that Oliver agreed were acceptable to use. He insisted they kept going though, knowing that it was important to have as many arrows as they could with Slade around watching them with that sniper rifle.

As Sara was practicing with the bo staff, she heard Thea speaking and consciously moved to create a subtle barrier between the others and Oliver, Thea, and Roy, knowing that Oliver would not want anyone else to overhear that conversation.

"What happened to your side Oliver?" Thea asked quietly. A couple of times she'd seen what looked like the edge of a new wound but hadn't been sure until he had twisted to pick up more wood, revealing the full bullet track in the process. Her voice showed the concern and fear that was warring with her desire to stay calm and not overtly react, the way that the rest of the Team were. She knew that whatever had happened this time Roy must have been aware of it, so if he and Oliver weren't reacting or openly acknowledging the wound then she knew that was how Oliver wanted it.

"It's just a graze Thea …" Oliver sighed, knowing he owed her the full truth. "… from a bullet." Oliver saw the way that her eyes widened at that, saw the increase in her pulse and recognized the struggle Thea was having to not react audibly to what he'd said. "Slade was watching us, from higher ground I think. I thought I sensed someone a few times but I couldn't see anybody. He was a sniper Thea and he just grazed me on purpose." He could see just how hard she was finding it to take that news, but he knew that now she was a part of the Team he had to be honest with her. "It was a warning shot, he was telling me that he is watching us." _And that he can take us out at any time – but she doesn't need to know that just yet _Oliver finished the thought silently. She had the information that she needed now, but there was no need to scare her any more than he already had.

Thea nodded, swallowing visibly at her brother's words. She understood what he was saying – and that he didn't want the others to know. She realized that he was only telling her and not the others, Thea thought she knew why, but she still needed to hear him say the words – just as he had needed to hear her when he had asked her the other night if she would fight alongside them. "Why are you telling me but not the others Oliver?"

"Because you took your place last night as part of Team Arrow, you are one of us now Thea." Oliver confirmed, knowing that was exactly what she had been asking.

Oliver was gratified to see the smile that lit up his sister's face at his words and knew that it meant just as much to her as it did to him for her to be a real part of the Team now. Yes she had a _long_ way to go and needed a _lot _of training still, but in her heart she was already a part of the Team. She had taken a stand and shown that she had his back even though she had just been shown the risks of doing just that – and that was far more important than any training. Her training and skills would come with practice, they could be taught, but only if her heart was truly in this and that was what she had proven to Felicity, to them all last night.

He nodded his acknowledgement to her unspoken words, not needing to hear them to know them, before he continued speaking. "The others don't need to know though okay Thea. They are scared enough as it is." Oliver kept his voice quiet and gentle as he spoke, but there was still a thread of steel running through it letting her know that this was an order and was not up for discussion.

Thea blanched slightly, not used to hearing that tone from her brother when he was speaking to her. She looked to Roy, unsure as to why Oliver's tone had changed that way, and saw that Roy hadn't even reacted to it but had simply accepted Oliver's words without question. _Roy never just accepts anything without question! _Thea thought for a minute, before finally understanding. _He wasn't speaking as my brother, as Oliver, he was giving an order to his Team as The Arrow. _As much as Thea didn't like the idea of being ordered about by her own brother, she knew and understood that it was necessary, and she respected his skills and experience enough to not argue – even if that went completely against the grain for her as his little sister, as his Team Member she realized it was right and she needed to follow those orders.

* * *

**AN2: Please be kind enough to let me know what you thought - reviews feed the Muse :D Thank you!**


	37. Bows

**Chapter 37 - Bows**

**AN: Big shout out to Delena4eva for being an absolute sweetheart & advertising this fic on her Fb page – without me asking! That was very kind of you, thank you! KenyanCougar thanks loads for helping me through this chapter which did not want to cooperate & for being a fantastic beta in Rennie's absence – love ya hun! All mistakes remain mine however!**

**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_Thea thought for a minute, before finally understanding. He wasn't speaking as my brother, as Oliver, he was giving an order to his Team as The Arrow. As much as Thea didn't like the idea of being ordered about by her own brother, she knew and understood that it was necessary, and she respected his skills and experience enough to not argue – even if that went completely against the grain for her as his little sister, as his Team Member she realized it was right and she needed to follow those orders._

**_Mixed POV_**

Most of the rest of the day was spent in training and archery practice. When they stopped to eat Oliver had told them that if he was happy with their skills at the end of the day he would take them to go and see the graves tomorrow and so everyone was working especially hard. Moira and Thea had already asked to go to see Robert's grave and, once they knew about it too, Walter, Laurel, and Lance had also wanted to pay their respects, as had the rest of his Team. Oliver had therefore decided to stick with his original plan for the whole group to go together, feeling it was safer than splitting them up now that they knew Slade was watching. Oliver was being careful to ensure that they understood that he was in charge, he knew they could not afford a repeat of the disagreements that had taken place on the way to the fuselage and then to the cave. _Especially not with Slade watching. _

Oliver spent some time working with Lance and Walter as he wanted to see their skills for himself and he knew that Roy could handle practicing the archery alone for a while. He asked Thea to do some more sparring too as she would need to be able to defend herself physically as well as with a bow. Oliver was sparring with both men at the same time as he wanted them to know what it was like to fight more than one person and to have to anticipate blocks from different directions simultaneously. Lance found that easier than Walter did and Oliver knew that was because he would have been used to being outnumbered at times as a cop. Walter of course had done all of his training in a gym and so that was completely different, even though it was clear that his step-father had worked hard to learn all that he could.

Oliver gradually sped the pace up without teaching them any more advanced moves. It was important for their reactions to be good even if their range of techniques was limited and Oliver thought back to that Bruce Lee quote Sara had given the previous day. _Fear not the man who has practices __10,000 different kicks, but fear the man that has practiced one kicking technique 10,000 different times._ He continued to train with them for a while before leaving them to it.

"Keep working, you need to have that foundation as strong as possible." Oliver said as he left them to continue to train and both men nodded their agreement, remembering Sara's lesson with Felicity and Laurel.

"Thea, Roy, would you join me at the cave again please." Oliver asked.

Both of them stopped their own practicing and went to join him as requested. Roy saw that Oliver was picking up the rest of the wood and vines that they had brought back earlier. _This should be interesting, how on earth is he going to turn all of_that _into two bows?!_Roy knew that Oliver would be able to do it, he knew that Oliver wouldn't have spent the time collecting the materials if he couldn't, but still Roy didn't see just _how _he was going to turn it into two bows. _Should be interesting, can't wait to see Thea's face when he tells her _Roy thought with a hint of a smile.

Oliver caught sight of the flicker of a smile passing over Roy's face and knew what he was thinking. He gave a hint of a smile back, sharing the younger man's thoughts about how Thea would react. Oliver put the rest of the wood and vines on the flat-topped rock they had used earlier and took out his knife again.

"More arrows Ollie?!" Just how many are you planning on using – and why is this wood different than what we used before?" Thea asked. _If Oliver really wants us to make more arrows then that's fine, but if he wants us to be ready to see Dad's grave tomorrow then wouldn't we be better off training?_Thea thought, confused at her brother's actions. She caught the hint of a smile passing over both Roy's and Oliver's faces in turn, which only served to confuse her more.

"Arrows aren't all that much good without something to shoot them from Speedy." Oliver pointed out with a bigger grin.

"Okayyy." She replied cautiously. _What's my brother got planned now?_Thea couldn't help but think warily.

"I've shown you both how to make arrows, now it's time you learned how to make a basic survival bow." Oliver explained, enjoying the look of stunned surprise on his sister's face. She had always been hard to genuinely surprise when they were growing up and so he was taking great pleasure in the times that he had been able to properly surprise her over the past few days that they had been on the Island.

"You can do that?!" Thea exclaimed, completely taken aback by his words. She hadn't even known that such a thing as a 'survival bow' had existed, let alone that he would know how to make one and be able to do so out here with no tools whatsoever apart from a combat knife.

Oliver however proceeded to do precisely that. He knew that it would take more time than they had for them to be able to learn to make one themselves, but regardless of that he decided it was important to show them the steps as they needed to understand the strengths and weaknesses of what would become their own bows. He taught them how to strip the wood of all bumps and knots initially, being careful to remove only what was absolutely necessary from the wood, before cutting them to the correct lengths for Thea and Roy respectively. Oliver then showed them how to push down on the wood, or the stave as he told them it was called, to see which way it naturally swiveled in order to find the back and the belly of the bow stave. He showed them how to push outwards gently on the belly side of the handhold to see where wood needed to be trimmed in order to shape the bow into its proper curved shape and encourage it to bend properly without weakening it or taking anything from the handhold area.

Once he was happy with the shape of both bows, Oliver showed them how to notch the areas for the drawstring and how to weave more of the fibrous threads from inside the vines into a string for the bow. He taught them how to fix them to the bows themselves – warning them strictly to not pull on the drawstring yet, to do so would risk breaking the bow. Next he took both bows with Thea and Roy over to a tree where he hung Thea's bow horizontally to check and balance out the tillering to make each limb of the bow bend evenly and equally, explaining that the limbs of the bow needed to be a mirror image of each other. Oliver kept gently stripping away at the wood and testing the drawstring little by little until he had it to the correct draw length for Thea. He set the draw weight for her, getting her to draw it again and again until Oliver was finally satisfied with it, having set it on the absolute limits of what she was currently able to draw properly, knowing that she would continue to get stronger and he didn't want to have to adjust it too frequently if possible.

Oliver warned them both how dangerous it was to dry fire the bow and lectured them to ensure they never did that – a survival bow was not suitable for firing without an arrow nocked. He was also careful to warn Thea that it would not be strong enough to use in a fight the way he did with his bow. Oliver explained that he had already told Roy that when she looked at him askance, clearly asking why he was only warning her. Oliver gave Thea a few arrows and told her to practice and get used to the feel and draw of her new bow, while he finished making Roy's. He followed the same procedure for the tillering and everything else, but being careful to ensure that it had a far heavier draw weight to compensate as much as possible for the Mirakuru. Finally Roy's bow was finished too and Oliver instructed Roy to take some arrows and practice just as Thea was.

"Make sure that there is only one of you loosing at a time though okay Roy. Otherwise you can explain to Felicity why her sewing kit is needed yet again!" Oliver threatened, knowing that Roy was far more scared of Felicity than of him and smiling slightly at the look of fear from Roy in response to his comment.

Oliver returned to the rest of the group, leaving Roy and Thea to familiarize themselves fully with their new bows. He was pleased to see that everyone was taking the training a lot more seriously and it seemed like Sara's and Felicity's lessons the previous day, coupled with everything that had happened last night, had hit home. _Finally they are starting to get it! _Oliver thought with a sense of relief. He knew that they would still be taking a big risk in going to see the graves, but equally he knew how important it was for Thea and his Mom to see his Dad's grave.

"Ready to train Oliver, John?" Sara asked with a grin as she spun her new bo staff in her hands. Oliver and Diggle looked at each other recognizing that for the challenge it was and knew straight away that she was looking forward to truly testing the strengths and weaknesses of the staff.

Felicity turned to spar with Moira and Laurel, having already noticed that Oliver didn't want them to only practice one on one. She had heard the challenge in Sara's voice too and even though she knew that this was going to be an impressive sparring session she was determined to not let their own training ease up in response. _No distractions this time! Thea needs to see her Father's grave, and Oliver needs to be able to take her too, so we need to do as much training as we can._

Within seconds Felicity could hear the continual thuds of bamboo and wood striking each other and didn't need to look to see that Oliver and Diggle had accepted Sara's challenge. From the sound of it, Sara was getting in more strikes that either of the men and Felicity knew how much she was enjoying having a staff now. She knew that for Sara the bo staff was as much an extension of her own body as the bow was for Oliver.

On several occasions Felicity noticed that Laurel was being distracted by Oliver, Sara, and Diggle, but she made a point of getting in a solid blow every time and after this had happened several times Laurel got the message and focused back on her own training. Moira had done the same thing once and Felicity had had no reservations over catching her hard too. _Slade's not going to take it any easier on her than on the rest of us after all. _Felicity thought as she justified her actions to herself.

They finally broke for food as the light started to fade, finishing off the rest of the food that Oliver and Roy had brought back that morning. None of them were full, but they were fed and Oliver decided that would have to satisfy them for now. He knew that going back out to check the traps and hunt again tonight would only be asking for trouble. He strongly doubted that Slade would give more than one warning shot a day and really did not want to have to remove yet another bullet if he could help it.

While they were eating Oliver had been carefully watching all their faces and body language and that had confirmed his suspicions from earlier. _Felicity has definitely spoken to them after last night. _He saw too many looks of pity that flashed over faces only to be determinedly smothered by other emotions and he made a note to ask Sara what had been said. Initially Oliver had intended to ask Diggle, but he saw several pitying looks stop on receipt of a warning look from Diggle and suspected that he had had something to say too. As Sara finished eating Oliver decided to take the chance to speak to her alone.

"Sara, time to swap weapons." Oliver made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion and Sara agreed readily enough.

Sara frequently practiced with his bow while he would use her bo staff when they were at the lair and both knew it was important to keep that going. Sara was currently the only other one who could truly use his bow and it was important to have as much coverage on the weapons as possible in case one of them was injured. They both ignored the quizzical looks from those who didn't already know that she could use the bow too as they headed over to the smaller clearing where Roy and Oliver had worked the previous day, picking up the bow, quiver, and bo staff as they left the main clearing.

Both made a start on their training waiting for the others to stop watching before they started speaking. They knew that the Team would be distracting the others for them. Oliver knew that both Felicity and Diggle had understood that he wanted to speak to Sara in private. After a few more minutes of training Sara finally paused shooting to speak.

"Felicity spoke to them while you and Roy were gone, Diggle said a little too." She kept her voice very low and quiet so that it would not carry and there was no way any of the others would be able to overhear. "She said a lot, she let them know how upset and distracted she was by hearing you say _'five years where nothing good happened' _the first time she heard you say that. I don't know how she does it but somehow Felicity managed to let them all know she understood what they were feeling." Sara paused, full of admiration for the remarkable blonde. "She told them they had to stop being distracted, that they had to stop the pity because you don't need it and definitely don't want it." Sara saw Oliver's nod of agreement and added one of her own. The last thing either of them wanted was pity.

"Diggle told them about when he spoke to you about secrets having weight, said that you told him he sees how hard you work out." Sara let out a small sigh at that, understanding both Diggle's words and Oliver's response to them. _They are both right, secrets _do _have immense weight – and we do work out so hard to try to avoid dealing with them, to allow ourselves to keep going. _She loosed a couple more arrows on target before continuing to speak.

"Felicity told them they had to focus on the strength that your scars show, not the injuries, to see them as a reminder of the amazing man you've become because of everything you've overcome. She said they needed to see the man that never gives up, never gives in; the one who goes up against arms dealers with loaded weapons with only a bow and arrows and wins. She told them to see the man under the hood, the Hero." Sara finished speaking, letting a little emotion into her own voice to show both how impressed she was with what Felicity had said, and her own agreement with her words.

Sara saw the look on Oliver's face even as he continued to practice with her bo staff, using the surrounding trees as training dummies. She knew that he needed some time to think through Felicity's and Diggle's words and she put the quiver down carefully before holding out the bow to Oliver in one hand while holding her other out for the bo staff. Oliver looked at her after a few seconds, nodded his thanks and took the bow, returning the bo staff at the same time. She left him there as he was strapping on the quiver, knowing that he simply needed the quiet simplicity of target practice to ground himself again.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When they settled down for sleep that night Thea took her place with the rest of the Team again, pleased to see the looks of approval and acceptance from the rest of the Team. She was surprised and happy at how readily they had welcomed her and included her in their Team and she knew that was due in no small amount to Felicity. Thea hadn't failed to notice that Oliver and Felicity were lying closer to each other again, their fingers touching surreptitiously, and she hoped that that meant that her brother would again be able to sleep. _Please let him have one night without a nightmare! _She thought, knowing how desperately Oliver needed the peace that it seemed only Felicity could give him. Thea looked to Diggle who was taking the first watch and realized that he was thinking the same thing. _When did I start to understand what he's thinking without needing words too?_

* * *

**AN2: Instructions for the survival bows have been taken from several websites & I apologize for any mistakes/inconsistencies. I am no archer & have never made a bow, but have simply done my best from the research I could find.**

**Please be kind enough to feed the Muse with your reviews! Thank you! :)**


	38. The Graves

**Chapter 38 – The Graves**

**AN: Yay, Rennie75 is back! Missed you honey! Yay, we all get to have the wonderful beta talents of Rennie again – all mistakes are still mine though! KenyanCougar you have my huge thanks for your beta help while Rennie was away sweet!**

**FYI Rennie75 has now done a sequel to the amazingly popular Lessons Learned which I have borrowed from in this fic as you all know. It's called 'Vacation Day' & the first two chapters are now up – check it out!**

**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely – Rennie, KenyanCougar, we gotta do something about this :-)**

* * *

_Thea hadn't failed to notice that Oliver and Felicity were lying closer to each other again, their fingers touching surreptitiously, and she hoped that that meant that her brother would again be able to sleep. _Please let him have one night without a nightmare!_She thought, knowing how desperately Oliver needed the peace that it seemed only Felicity could give him. Thea looked to Diggle who was taking the first watch and realized that he was thinking the same thing. _When did I start to understand what he's thinking without needing words too?

**_Mixed POV_**

Sara took the last watch of the night, grateful to Diggle and Oliver for letting her have that many hours sleep in one go. After the intense emotions and broken sleep of the past few nights, she knew that she was running low and had desperately needed that sleep. An hour into her watch she heard Oliver start to moan and writhe again and she sighed, prepared for yet another nightmare that would wake the others. Diggle woke almost immediately upon hearing Oliver and she caught his eyes, knowing that he would deal with Oliver. Sara stayed on watch while keeping one eye on Oliver too – and the others just in case.

Just as Diggle was about to move closer to Oliver and start to speak, however, both of them were surprised when Felicity stretched out her hand in her sleep. She was reaching towards Oliver's hand that was also moving _as if searching for something,_ _or someone, _Sara thought. Oliver and Felicity linked hands and Oliver's moans gradually quieted back down as he settled back into sleep instead of going deeper into the nightmare as usual. Sara and Diggle looked at each other in shocked surprise.

_He didn't react badly to her hand, _her _touch!_

_Have you ever seen him do that?_

_Nah Sara, never seen him calm down again either, you?_

_No, never!_

Neither of them could believe what they had just witnessed and yet both knew instantly that Felicity was the reason. She grounded Oliver far more than even they had realized and it seemed that their link was strong enough to even reach through into Oliver's subconscious. Diggle and Sara smiled at each other, grateful that for the first time since they had got here Oliver's sleep was not going to be broken by a bad nightmare – and he was not going to have to face the others or explain anything.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Oliver woke in the morning surprised to realize that he had not woken from another nightmare. He had a memory of having the beginnings of one, but instead of it getting worse as normal something had stopped it in its tracks. He realized that Felicity was holding his hand in her sleep still and couldn't help but wonder at that. He knew that he hadn't hit out, hadn't hurt her, the Team would have stopped that _but how can she be touching me without having been hurt? Is she the reason, did Felicity stop that nightmare? _He caught Sara's eye and saw the pointed grin on her face at their hands and knew that whatever had happened she had seen it. _Will have to ask her later _Oliver decided.

Once everyone else was awake and had had some water, Oliver gathered them all together in the clearing to go over the plan for visiting the graves and make sure everyone was clear on it. Once they were all listening,he started to speak.

"As you know, I am going to take you to the graves of my Father, Yao Fei, and Shado today. But you need to understand that this could be dangerous. We know that Slade is out there and he may be watching us, he's already shown that he is willing to hurt anyone."

As much as he didn't want to scare them, Oliver knew that he needed to make them aware of how risky this could be. He looked to the rest of the Team to see that they were all in agreement and clearly supporting him. Again he could see that Thea was struggling to keep her emotions hidden from the others. He saw her eyes flicker to the bullet track on his side for half a second before she met his eyes again. Oliver could see that it was hard for her to keep this up and he wished that she didn't have to learn to hide her feelings like this, didn't have to hide them at all, but he knew how necessary it was and he was grateful to her for her support. He gave her a hint of a smile that he knew she saw before continuing.

"When we first got here there were a lot of disagreements and arguments …" Oliver saw several of them opened their mouths to object but he continued regardless, refusing to let them speak. "… and that does not matter now. What does matter now is that that _cannot_ happen again. If I tell you to do something, if _any _of us tell you to do something then you need to do it, immediately, without hesitation or argument. If you cannot do that then we cannot keep you safe and this will _not _be happening. We will _not _be going to the graves unless every one of you understands and agrees to that. I will not risk anyone dying because one of you did not obey instantly." Oliver was speaking in what Felicity called his Arrow voice, letting the steely thread of his orders be completely clear to all.

Oliver saw his Mom and Laurel swallow, visibly scared by his words. Walter blanched slightly before nodding his agreement as Lance spoke.

"We understand Oliver. There won't be _any _arguments." Lance's voice was quiet but just as clear and steely as Oliver's had been.

"Thank you Detective. Mom, Laurel, Walter, I need you to each give me your word too." Oliver was not prepared to let anyone get away with just nodding their agreement this time.

"I understand Oliver, we'll do as you say." His Mom confirmed.

"You have it son, there won't be any arguments." Walter added his word to the others.

Oliver looked to Laurel as she was now the last to agree and she nodded slightly as she started to speak. "I agree too Oliver, I'll do what you say – and I'm not arguing only asking, why doesn't Thea have to give her word?" Laurel's voice was gentle and enquiring and Oliver could tell she was genuinely asking and not trying to argue this time. Because of that he was willing to answer her question.

"Because Thea took her place as part of Team Arrow the night before last."

"So that means she doesn't have to agree to not argue?" Laurel asked again, genuinely trying to understand.

"If a member of the Team argues during a mission they will be shut down – by all of us! To disobey an order is to risk the lives of the others and those we are trying to protect - and that will _not _be tolerated. Team Arrow works as one, nobody acts on their own, nobody ignores the plan. To do can be deadly and they all understand that, Thea included." Again Oliver's voice was steel, completely unbending as he growled this out in full Arrow mode.

He looked at Thea as he spoke, needing her to understand that he was saying this to her as much as to the others. He knew that she was trying hard as it was, but to give any leeway on this was to risk lives, hers and theirs. The fact that she was his little sister could not be allowed to have any effect – otherwise it could well be her life that was on the line.

Laurel nodded nervously, as did Thea, and it was clear that Oliver's words had got through to the pair of them, to everybody there. Oliver looked around fixing his eyes on every single person in turn to ensure that nobody was in any doubt as to how serious he was.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It was a hungry and subdued group that headed out towards the cliff top where the graves were. Oliver and Roy were out in front with Sara and Diggle protecting the rear of the group and everybody else in the middle. It had been decided that as many of them as possible would be armed so Sara had given her knife to Roy, preferring her bo staff. Oliver had his bow, of course,and Thea had hers too. Oliver had kept his own combat knife as well as they decided it was best to keep that in reserve and they knew that Slade was most likely to attack him out of any of them.

They had all agreed it was still safer for Roy to use the knife over his bow still as his aim needed a lot of work and his strength would be more useful behind the knife. Diggle had kept his knife but had given his bamboo baton to Lance, knowing that it was close enough to a police baton for him to be able to use it easily enough. The other baton had gone to Felicity as she had worked with the batons with Sara back in the lair. The rest would simply have to rely on the self-defense lessons they had been giving them as there were not enough weapons for everyone.

As they finally neared the clearing near the edge of the cliff where the three graves were Oliver slowed warily. As yet he couldn't sense anything wrong, but he knew that there was a big chance that Slade had been there too. He looked back at Sara to see if she had sensed anything either but she shook her head slightly as well. Regardless, they approached slowly with Diggle and Roy moving around to the sides of the group so that there was one of them in each direction. They knew that it was impossible for them to cover everything but they would still do the best they could. Oliver called a halt and Sara and Diggle quickly joined him to decide how to proceed. They knew that there was still a short way to go and that they may simply not have got close enough yet, but none of them were comfortable with the lack of visible traces of Slade so far.

"Lot of vantage points man, he could be in any of them." Diggle said thinking about the sniper rifle.

"I know." Oliver agreed with a small sigh. "I can't hear him, everything seems okay but it's too easy. Sara, how about you?"

"No, but I've only been here once before." Sara pointed out as Oliver nodded his agreement. "Maybe we're just not close enough yet though."

Oliver took a deep breath, signaling to the others to resume their positions as he started to approach the clearing again. As he came to the top of the final rise, entering the edge of the clearing where the graves were visible for the first time, he came to a sudden stop, followed almost immediately by the others, unable to believe what he was seeing.

There was now a slick post well over twelve foot high on either edge of the clearing with a wire netting of some kind strung between them, acting like a fence. There was more of this netting on the ground, interwoven with barbed wire, and Oliver could see that it went over the edges of the cliff as well. Whatever it was, and he had a worrying suspicion, there was no way to get to the graves without physically climbing through it. While Oliver thought he would be able to make it through, he knew he wouldn't be able to do so without being in contact with the wire pretty much the whole time.

Walter took a step to the side, being careful to stay behind Oliver but wanting a better look at this wire net like fence that had caused a look of worry to flash across Oliver's face, however briefly. He now knew how little was able to affect his step-son and the fact that this had had him concerned no small amount. Walter took one more step and as he did so he heard a faint click that instantly caused Sara and Oliver to turn around. Before Walter could even react though an Australian voice rang out through the clearing.

"One of you has just stood on a pressure plate triggering this recording. Move and you all die. The explosive power that I have connected into the plate is more than even you could survive Oliver, no matter how hard you think you are to kill. A timer is now running and you have 20 minutes before it detonates. If any of you try to leave or assist Oliver then I will not hesitate to kill you." A shot rang out to the shock of Thea and the non-Team members and Oliver hissed briefly as pain flared across his thigh.

"There will not be a third warning shot. On the other side of the wire net before you is the control pad to deactivate the timer. If your precious Felicity is as good as she thinks she is then she will be able to hack it in time. That wire netting is electrified. You refused to say if you remembered the feel of the electricity on the Amazo kid. Now it's time for your family and friends to enjoy the particular delight of the sound of your screams. I have set the electricity at six milliamps - the level you passed out at before, remember kid." Slade laughed dangerously at that and the recording ended.

* * *

**AN2: Sooo, what do you think? Please be kind enough to feed the Muse with your reviews, follows, and favourites if you think it deserves them. Thank you!**


	39. Oliver's Choice

**Chapter 39 - ****Oliver's Choice**

**AN: So as many of you know that Rennie75, KenyanCougar, & I all beta each other's work we have now set up a FF Community where you can find all the Arrow fics of all three of us. Hope you like! Here's the link (minus spaces) www. fanfiction community/ Arrow-Fics- of-Rennie75- Mic-RiddyBanon- and-KenyanCougar/ 114555/**

**AN2: Thank you so much for the incredible reviews & responses to my last cliffhanger chapter! Rennie did the wonderful beta work on this chapter but all mistakes remain mine :D**

**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**

**Disclaimer: The CW owns Arrow completely, sigh!**

* * *

_You refused to say if you remembered the feel of the electricity on the Amazo kid. Now it's time for your family and friends to enjoy the particular delight of the sound of your screams. I have set the electricity at six milliamps - the level you passed out at before, remember kid." Slade laughed dangerously at that and the recording ended._

**_Mixed POV_**

"Third warning shot?" Moira queried in a very panicked voice, but Oliver ignored her as Diggle spoke.

"Where this time Oliver? Another graze, or more?" With that timer running Diggle knew they did not have the time to waste answering any questions that weren't immediately relevant, so even though he knew that Moira was simply scared they could not afford to waste time answering her.

"Flesh wound, right thigh. Walter do **_not _**move. Sara take the bow, I'll never get through that fencing with it." Oliver was in pure Arrow mode now, his voice a steel growl.

"Those gaps are too small Oliver, you'll never make it. It'll take too long for you to fit through and it will make the shocks too bad. I'll do it." Sara responded, ignoring the wound to Oliver's leg. She knew that if it needed medical attention now then he would have said so, Oliver would never jeopardize a mission by underplaying an injury in the field.

"It's my choice Sara. You know he won't let you anyway, it has to be me. Digg did you see where the shot came from?" Oliver said as he unstrapped the quiver, handing both it and the bow to Sara. He could see the fear on the faces of all the others, only Sara and Diggle were able to hide it from their faces, but their pulses were still elevated just as Oliver knew his would be.

"It was that direction, but I didn't see where exactly, sorry man." Diggle answered as he indicated to the side with a slight inclination of his head.

"Felicity you need to be ready as soon as we get that control panel to you. Digg, I'm going to throw it to you as soon as I can, be ready. Sara you need to cover him. Roy watch our six, we can't trust that he won't come up from behind while we're focused on this. Thea you're covering where the shot came from, make sure you have an arrow nocked ready. Lance I need you to keep a look out too. Everybody stay low." Oliver growled out, making it abundantly clear these were orders and not up for discussion.

Walter was doing everything he could to stay still as ordered. He knew that he was shaking, but stopping that was beyond him. _If I move we all die. But to save us Oliver's got to… _Walter's thoughts tailed off, unable to finish that thought even in his own head. He knew that Oliver was braver than he had ever imagined, knew that he was incredibly strong, but Slade had said that Oliver had passed out at that level before. _I__s it even physically possible to overcome that kind of reaction? _Walter couldn't help thinking as he prepared himself for the screams that would inevitably come. He knew that Oliver didn't react to pain the same way as other people did, but he was still scared for him as his thoughts continued. _I__f that amperage was enough to make him pass out before then there is surely no way that he can get through that without screaming. _Walter was also struggling hugely with guilt and knew that this was his fault. **_I _**_trod on the pad, _**_I _**_set this off. Oliver has to do this because of _**_me_**_!_

Thea was caught between being utterly terrified for her brother, for what she knew that he now _had _to do, being scared for the lives of them all, nervous about providing cover, and empathizing with Walter. It had been hard enough to stand still on that landmine when she had stepped on it on their first day on the Island. Yet she knew it would be even worse for Walter, knowing that everybody's life was depending on him staying still and that he was the one who had triggered the pad. _If he moves before Oliver and Felicity have … well that will be the end of us all. Why does Slade have to keep shooting my brother too?! It's bad enough to force him to go through a barbed wire and electric fence but no he has to shoot him in the leg too! Sick son of a …_

Thoughts were running around Felicity's head at a million miles an hour. Much as she wanted to reassure Oliver she was too scared to open her mouth. There was no time to waste on distractions now and she knew how much he needed to focus if he was going to be able to put up with six milliamps of electricity jolting him continually as he made his way through the fence. She knew that he would need her to ground him though, he always did, and so she put every ounce of confidence she possibly could into her voice. Felicity took a couple of calming breaths before she spoke.

"You can do this Oliver. Go get the control panel back to me. Save Walter, save us all. I believe in you."

Moira was petrified at what was happening and struggling to figure it all out, since that damned recording had started they had all reacted so fast. All she knew was that her boy was about to be shocked badly! _Either he chooses to go through _that _or we will all die._ _How is he going to do that, will he even be able to stay conscious?_ She wanted to say something, anything, to help but had no idea where to even start and she didn't trust her voice not to shatter if she spoke anyway.

Moira was more relieved than she could say when Felicity spoke the words that Oliver clearly needed to hear. _The way he reacted, calmed, the minute she said she believes in him. _Moira realized that no matter what she had said, it would never have had the same effect as Felicity had had. _Is she as good as they think? If she can't hack that panel in time… _Moira was unable to finish the thought, couldn't stand to even think of it.

Sara was relieved that Oliver was going to be the one going. She had offered, had been willing to do it herself especially as she still felt responsible for the last time that Slade had used six milliamps on Oliver. But she was honest enough to admit to herself the relief she felt at knowing it didn't have to be her. She strapped on the quiver quickly before nocking an arrow and aiming it in the rough direction that John thought the shot had come from.

Regardless of how steady she was outwardly, inside Sara's thoughts were running away with her. _How are they going to react to his screams? Will they be able to do as ordered? He'll be able to stay conscious this time, but even Oliver won't be able to stay silent with six milliamps, will he? Never, _ever _wanted to hear that sound again! Please let him be okay, let us all make it through this alive. _Sara wasn't even sure who she was addressing that last thought to, but couldn't help thinking it all the same.

Lance was more scared than he wanted to let on. He knew that what they were about to witness, what they were going through would change them all. _It took Sara so long to even start to come back to us after her time 'away' what's this going to do to her now? How's Laurel going to cope with this? Oliver is beyond a shadow of a doubt the bravest man I ever knew! He wouldn't even take the out that Sara offered. _Lance had been incredibly relieved when Oliver had refused, had insisted on doing it himself, the last thing he'd wanted was to watch his daughter go through _that_.

He looked to Moira with compassion for what she must be going through. _All she wanted was to see her husband's grave, to say goodbye properly, and now she's got to watch her son choosing to be tortured to save all our lives. _For torture was what Lance knew this whole twisted trap was. _Slade is a sadistic psychopath!_

Oliver might be the one choosing to go through that electrified fencing, but it was Slade who was forcing him to do it. _He's not even reacted to being shot, again! _Lance tried to take a few deep breaths to steady himself in preparation for what Oliver was going to do, what he was going to hear, even while he kept looking around him as Oliver had ordered. _Really hope that Felicity's as good as SCPD's IT Tech Kelton __says she is!_

Roy was scared and angry, he could feel the rage flowing through his body and wanted more than anything to punch something, someone, _Slade _his mind supplied. He had wanted to offer to take Oliver's place, knowing that the Mirakuru would heal him far faster, but at Oliver's response to Sara's offer Roy knew there was no point and Oliver was right. Slade would never allow it to be anybody else. He felt so helpless and _hated _feeling like that, he was relieved that Oliver had told him to keep watch, he knew he had to focus his anger on something and having that to do helped. Roy knew that to lose control in this kind of situation could get them all killed. _Thea, keep hold for Thea._

Laurel was horrified and terrified, it had been bad enough to hear Slade's threats back on the Amazo. But now they would actually have to watch Oliver force himself to climb through barbed wire and an electric fence with the electricity set so high he had apparently passed out the last time. She had seen the fear pass over her sister's face, even as Oliver's had gone utterly blank _as if he's put on a mask _she thought, realizing that in a way she was right. He _had _put on a mask _he's shutting down, shutting everything out to do this._

She was prouder of Oliver than she had ever been in her life and at the same time she was scared witless for him. Laurel was also scared of how she was going to react to his screams. It had scared her enough hearing him scream in his nightmare, seeing the look on her sister's face at those same screams. She clamped her hands tight over her mouth determined that she wasn't going to say or do anything to distract Oliver.

"You've got this man, ready when you are." Diggle put as much confidence into his words as he could, knowing even as he spoke them that it was a poor attempt. He was more worried than he wanted to let on. He knew from his time in Special Forces that seven milliamps could cause cardiac arrest and it wasn't as if Oliver was only going to be in contact with those jolts of electricity for a second or two. He didn't say anything else, didn't need to for he knew that there was no need for Oliver to hear the words to know that he had his back, that he wasn't alone, and that they would take care of everyone else so that he could do this.

Oliver took a couple of deep grounding breaths as he looked around, seeing the multitude of emotions flickering over all their faces. The only one that mattered to him though was Felicity, his girl, and hearing her say that she believed in him gave him the strength he needed to be able to do this. He thought for a fraction of a second about removing the knife and leaving that behind with the bow too. He knew that having metal blade on him would only make the inevitable burns worse, but it was too risky to leave it behind, for all he knew he might need it to recover the control panel thing for Felicity. He met Felicity's eyes, communicating his thanks for saying, yet again, the one thing that he needed to hear above all else, for her grounding him; before nodding to Diggle that he was ready.

* * *

**AN3: Again, huge thanks for your fabulous support! You've fed the Muse enough that I've made a good start on the next chapter - keep the reviews coming? Thank you!**


	40. No Choice

**Chapter 40 – ****No Choice**

**AN: Rennie, KC, you girls are the best friends I could ask for & I am so incredibly grateful to God for bringing me to you both. Thank you my cariads for being such an amazing help & support always! Rennie you also have my big thanks for the wonderfully fast beta on this honey! KC thanks for keeping me on track! All mistakes are still mine though! ****Shameless plug for our joint FF Community where you can find all the fics that Rennie75, KenyanCougar, & I have written. Here's the link to put after www. FFnet community/Arrow-Fics-of-Rennie75-Mic-RiddyBanon-and-KenyanCougar/114555/**

**Second plug is for an amazing page on Facebook called Olicity- Arrow run by Delena4eva - you gotta check it out, it's fab! www. facebook OliverNFelicity? fref= ts**

**AN2: Huge thanks to each & every single one of you who's read, followed, favourited, and/or reviewed! You are the reason that I write! Thank you!**

_**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**_

**Disclaimer: Rennie, KC, we gotta do something about this coz The CW still owns Arrow completely.**

* * *

_He knew that having a metal blade on him would only make the inevitable burns worse, but it was too risky to leave it behind, for all he knew he might need it to recover the control panel thing for Felicity. He met Felicity's eyes, communicating his thanks for saying, yet again, the one thing that he needed to hear above all else, for her grounding him; before nodding to Diggle that he was ready._

**_Mixed POV_**

Oliver walked fast over to the wires, checking for other traps as he went, remembering Slade's propensity for using distractions, and he started to negotiate his way through. The barbed wire tore at Oliver's clothes and skin, slowing him down and keeping him in contact with each electric wire longer. He clamped down on the pain as long as he could, refusing to scream. _Slade is not going to hear me scream again. I will _not _make them have to deal with that too. _It was hard going though, Oliver's progress was slow and already the pain was hitting him hard. He kept his focus on finding a way through to the gap in the main netting that he had already identified as the largest. Even so, Oliver knew that there was no way he was going to be able to climb through it without being constantly shocked. Just as he made it to the main netting his control slipped slightly and he was forced to let out a low moan as the wire touched the knife.

Oliver could taste the blood in his mouth as he bit down even harder on his lip in order to prevent the moan from turning into a full scream as he climbed through the gap. The electricity coursing through his veins was as high as he had ever felt it and he had never had the shocks sustained for this length of time before. _For Felicity, keep it together for Felicity. She dies if you fail. No choice to make. Keep going. For Felicity._

Eventually, after what felt like forever but he knew had not really been that long, Oliver made it through and passed the wiring on the other side of the fence. He paused for a second before picking up the wireless control panel, remembering the trap with Shado's bow at Fyers' camp.

"Time Digg?" Oliver called, panting hard, while he carefully checked the ground surrounding the panel with his knife, looking for triggers and traps.

"Eight minutes, twelve remaining Oliver." Diggle confirmed, getting worried at how little time was left and knowing that Felicity still had to hack the controls. He caught Sara's eye letting her know he was about to go and then ran to the edge of the wiring, being careful to stay as low as possible, as he saw Oliver bend to pick the control panel up. Oliver looked him in the eye confirming that Diggle was ready before throwing the panel for all he was worth straight over the high fence and into Diggle's waiting hands. Diggle caught it and ran straight to Felicity, not waiting to see Oliver start his return or even to check that Sara was ready, he didn't need to, he knew that she would be there covering him.

Felicity grabbed at it the second she could and started to work, mumbling to herself as she hacked faster than Diggle thought he had ever seen her do before. He didn't understand what she was talking about but knew that it didn't matter, if she needed anything she would say so and it was important to stay quiet to let her work. It was just as vital to let her concentrate when she was working as it was for the Team when they were in the field. _If not more so right now! _

Diggle knew that Felicity would be acutely aware of the ticking clock being held over all their heads. If she was to do the impossible by hacking a system she had never touched before without any of her own computers or programs then they _had _to let her focus. As the minutes ticked by however, Diggle started to worry, Felicity seemed to be struggling and he knew that this was taking longer than it should be.

"Felicity?" Diggle couldn't help but speak. He didn't want to interrupt, but he needed to know what was going on.

"He's good not good I mean bad but he's good he didn't program this but whoever did they're good I can do it but I need time how much time is there Digg I need to just get past this bit and I've got it. No, no, no you're not going to do that…" Felicity was starting to panic, scared that the time was going to run out, that she was going to fail Oliver. _I can't fail, I won't fail him. There's no choice. I _have_ to do this!_

"Felicity?!" Oliver stopped her babble, as always, with just her name. He was struggling to stay focused, the pain was dragging him down, but he _had_ to give her the focus that she had given him. "You can do this Felicity. I believe in you." He made a point of using the same words that she always used to him. He was watching her face and her pulse and saw that she calmed slightly as she heard him say that. It was clear that she was shutting out everything else, but she had still heard him.

Oliver knew that Felicity would be able to do it now and he concentrated on making it back through the gap. It was harder going in this direction though, there was more barbed wire meaning that he could not avoid the electric wire at all and his pain levels were starting to overwhelm him. As he finally made it most of the way through the gap in the fence he felt his clothes pull suddenly and knew that they had snagged on the barbed wire. Oliver was stuck with the electric wire touching his body in multiple places and this time he simply couldn't hold the groan in, he was barely able to keep it from turning into a full scream.

Diggle saw Moira gasp before covering her mouth, tears streaming down her face and he turned back to Oliver quickly as he heard him let out a louder groan that was almost a scream. Oliver's whole body was shaking and Diggle could see that his clothes had got caught on the barbed wire on the other side of the fence as he had climbed through the gap. Oliver was unable to free them and so he had to grab the knife and cut the material free. Diggle could see a trickle of blood coming from Oliver's lip and knew that he had bitten through it just to keep the screams inside. He knew that Oliver was close to collapse and Diggle wasn't sure that he was going to be able to hold onto consciousness long enough to make it back.

_Slade be damned, there's no choice, we've got to help him. _"Roy." Diggle said as he nodded towards Oliver, giving Roy permission to try to approach. He had already seen the thoughts running over Roy's face and agreed that with the Mirakuru the best operational choice was for him to go. Roy didn't even hesitate but just ran towards Oliver, intending to make it to him and carry him back. But before he could take more than a couple of steps he was shot in the arm with a bullet and more sprayed across in front of his path as Slade's voice boomed out again. The bullet had little effect on Roy, as fuelled with rage as he was, but Slade's words stopped him dead in his tracks.

"One more step Mr Harper and the next bullet goes into your girlfriend."

"Stay there Roy." Oliver ordered, his voice faint and breaking into an even louder groan at the end, but the steel could still be heard through it. Slade might have intended to prevent him from getting any help, but by threatening Thea he had given Oliver the last surge of adrenaline that he needed to make it back. _He is _not _going to hurt Thea! There's no choice, I cannot fail, I _have_ to do this! _ He could feel the fire sparking through his whole body, he knew that his condition was bad and he had barely minutes before he would pass out.

"Yes, done it!" Felicity exclaimed exultantly, fist pumping in the air. She looked up, her awareness coming back to everything that was going on around her as she had shut it all out in order to focus on the hack that had needed to be done. She was breathing hard and shaking from all the adrenaline pumping through her body. It was making her feel weak and dizzy, but she knew she had done it. She hadn't failed Oliver, or the Team. "It's deactivated Walter."

Walter nearly collapsed with the relief but still didn't dare move until they expressly told him he could. He looked straight at Sara, seeing that Diggle was completely focused on Oliver. The second he saw her nod permission he almost leapt from the damned pressure plate. He couldn't believe what he had witnessed, what he was still seeing, and knew that this time even Slade had underestimated Oliver. Oliver's groans were getting louder still, but he had yet to scream, _somehow. _He knew that Oliver had to be in agony and he could see the tremors running through his step-son's body. He looked to Moira, seeing the floods of silent tears running down her cheeks and went to her side, taking her in his arms and giving her the physical support she needed.

"Come on Oliver, you're nearly there, you can do it. I believe in you!" Felicity repeated her earlier words, and his, knowing that he would lock onto her voice. He had never failed when she had told him she believed in him and she knew that he would not allow this time to be any different. She was shaking on the inside, tears welling up in her eyes, but she refused to let them flow knowing that they could distract Oliver.

Finally, letting out one last groan that bordered on a low scream, Oliver made it free of all the wire. He staggered the rest of the way back to the others giving one last order at the same time. "Get into the trees, get under cover now." He was relieved to see that they obeyed him still. Only Roy was waiting for him, knowing that he would need his help and it didn't escape Oliver's attention that he had looked to Diggle first for permission to remain. Oliver made it the last couple of steps before collapsing onto Roy, hissing loudly at the contact with the burns that the electric wire had given him.

Roy ignored the hisses and moans of pain that were coming from Oliver, knowing that he had to carry him regardless. _Why can't he just give in and pass out?!_ He ran with Oliver into the forest joining the others as they all ran from this place. He knew that the contact with his skin was causing Oliver even more pain, but there was no choice so Roy did his best to shut down his own emotions, trying to focus on what needed to be done as the Team had tried so hard to teach him. After a few seconds Oliver spoke, much to Roy's amazement.

"Stop. Sara, need herbs."

Sara was at Oliver's side instantly, closely followed by Felicity, and she understood straight away what he was saying. She was surprised that he knew where they were, when she had left the Island they had still been unable to find Yao Fei's magic herbs. However, it was evident that Oliver _did _know now and she wasn't going to waste time asking about it. "Where?" Sara asked simply.

"Three clicks east of … Mirakuru cave … by rock pool … edge of waterfall." Oliver's speech was broken, the effort to stay conscious long enough to describe the location was using up the last vestiges of his adrenaline.

Sara was utterly grateful that she recognized the description he was giving. "I remember Oliver. I'll get them." She looked to Felicity, knowing that she was the only one who would be able to reassure Oliver enough for him to allow himself to pass out. She met Felicity's eyes, not being able to say the words but knowing she did not need to.

Felicity nodded, understanding Sara's look and spoke gently but confidently knowing that she would need to convince him. "You can let go now, we've got it Oliver." She gave him the reassurances she knew that he needed to hear from her to finally allow himself to pass out. She sighed with relief when Oliver closed his eyes, having accepted her words, and his body went limp in Roy's arms.

"Get them back John. I'm getting the herbs and will join you as soon as I can." Sara didn't wait for his response, knowing it wasn't necessary, before running off at top speed to get the herbs for Oliver.

* * *

**AN3: Again, thank you so much for all your support! Please do let me know what you thought of this chapter! Thank you! :-D**


	41. Respect

**Chapter 41 – Respect**

**AN: My thanks as always to every single one of you for sticking with me on this ride. Your support is fabulous & your reviews really do keep me writing, thank you! Rennie75 has done the beta work - thank you cariad! All mistakes remain mine :-)**

_**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**_

**Disclaimer: Arrow still belongs to The CW**

* * *

_"Get them back John. I'm getting the herbs and will join you as soon as I can." Sara didn't wait for his response, knowing it wasn't necessary, before running off at top speed to get the herbs for Oliver._

**_Diggle's POV_**

Diggle kept the group together and moving fast as they put as much distance between them and Slade's trap as they could. He was more worried than he wanted to admit about Oliver and had been incredibly relieved when the younger man had been able to tell Sara where to find the herbs. Diggle knew that those herbs would be needed more than anything else right now. He had been badly shaken by watching his friend go through all of _that_. He was amazed at the physical and mental strength Oliver had displayed by not only making it all the way through the barbed and electric wires and back, but also by doing so without releasing a single full scream. Diggle knew that, while Oliver would not have wanted Slade to hear him scream again, the major reason that Oliver had refused to scream was to save the others and the Team further distress. Oliver had done it to make it easier for all of them, regardless of how much it had cost him to do so, and Diggle's respect for his friend grew even greater still.

He was relieved that they had Roy there with them too. Even though Roy had been shot himself, he wasn't even breaking a sweat carrying Oliver while moving at a rapid pace and Diggle knew that that would simply not have been possible without him. He still found it strange to know that a Team Member had been shot and yet not have to worry about it or need to even treat the injury, but right now he was grateful for that. _We're gonna have our hands full enough as it is taking care of Oliver _Diggle knew.

He hadn't failed to notice the reactions of the others to Roy being shot. Even though they had already been told about the Mirakuru, Diggle realized that knowing about it was still very different to understanding it. _If it's still strange for me then how much stranger must it be for them? _Although the others hadn't reacted much at the time, he knew that that was because of shock and everything else that was still happening at that point. Now that the major adrenaline of the moment was over though, it was clearly starting to hit home and Diggle could see that they were all really struggling to deal with that on top of everything else. They were still running for their lives though and he knew that once they were back at the cave and safe - _relatively safer_ his brain supplied – everything they had just witnessed would hit them even harder. Diggle realized that there was going to be some tough times and adjustments ahead for them all.

Diggle had breathed a sigh of relief when Oliver had finally given in at Felicity's words and he just hoped that Oliver would stay out cold long enough for them to at least make it back to the cave. He knew how much more pain being jolted around as he was carried would cause him and Diggle wanted to save him as much pain as possible. Right now though, it was more important to get out of there as fast as they could, than it was to ensure the journey was bump free. As much as Diggle hated that, he knew it was the truth and it was what Oliver would have ordered if he was still conscious.

As much as he wanted to just focus on Oliver right now he knew that he couldn't do that. He had to trust Roy to keep an eye on Oliver instead. His job was to keep everyone else safe and together, to get them back to the cave without picking up any more injuries. To do that he had to focus on them, on the forest around them, he had to make sure that everyone stayed alert. Diggle knew how dangerous the journey back after any mission could be for that was when people let their guards down, thinking they were safe. He was not about to let anybody else get hurt after Oliver had gone through all _that _to save their lives.

His mind flashed back again to the trap, to Oliver fighting his way through. Diggle had seen how Felicity had given him the final strength that he needed to make it back, to not give in. Just as he had given her the focus and strength she had needed to block out everything else and hack those controls, just barely in time. He still could not believe that Oliver had managed to not scream and he looked again to the trickles of blood running down his mouth from where Oliver had bitten deep into his own lip to clamp down on those screams. Diggle knew that he would never forget the looks of on his friend's face - the agony that would only have been visible to Felicity, Sara, and himself - and the tremors running through his whole body. He knew that the sounds of Oliver's groans would stay with him forever too.

He knew that they were going to have their work cut out for them helping the others through this. It had been bad enough for him, for the pre-Island Team (as Diggle thought of them now that Thea was one of them too) and they had all seen Oliver come back injured and at death's door more times than they could count. But Thea and the others had never seen Oliver hurt like _this_. They had seen him in the hospital on a couple of occasions of course, but even then they had not known the true cause of his injuries - or how many more injuries Oliver had suffered that they had never even been aware had reacted badly enough to the wounds Slade had inflicted on them both at Fyers' camp and these burns would be so much worse.

Diggle was impressed with the way that Thea was continuing to look around her guardedly as they moved, the arrow still nocked on her bow as Oliver had instructed. It was obvious to anyone that they were siblings. Regardless of who her biological father was, it was plain that they both had that same streak of steel running through them. He knew that Thea would need that and he just hoped that with all of them here they would be able to teach her to use that steel without shutting out everything and everyone else.

He continued to observe everyone else even as he was looking out for danger and was pleased to note that Lance was clearly keeping watch too. There was a huge amount of tension running through the Detective's face and body and it was clear that he was using his own training to shut out everything except what he needed to get them back in one piece. Diggle respected that as he knew just how hard that kind of professional detachment was to achieve when you were dealing with family and friends and not just people you worked with.

He knew that he would need to make a point of speaking to the Detective later and thanking him, as well as letting him know that he was there if Lance needed to talk. Diggle suspected that Lance would be more willing to open up to him than he would be to Sara. He had already seen the way that the Detective tried to spare his youngest daughter further pain, even though Lance knew that she had been through far more than he could ever imagine. _Through more than any of us can imagine I suspect, except Oliver._

Walter was helping Moira and giving her his physical support as they continued to run. Diggle hadn't failed to notice the guilt written all over Oliver's step-father's face and knew that he would need to ask Felicity to talk to him later. Felicity already had a good relationship with Walter and he trusted her. Diggle suspected that as she was the one who had had to hack the controls she would be the only one who would be able to get through to Walter that it hadn't been his fault. Oliver would probably need to talk to him too, but obviously that would need to wait.

"Roy, how's Oliver's pulse?" Diggle asked in a low quiet voice. He didn't want anyone else to hear his question, even as he saw that Felicity shared the same fears. Oliver had crashed on them too many times as it was, if all those shocks had damaged Oliver's heart then they could be in real trouble he knew. _No defibrillator out here! _As he looked at Felicity, Diggle noticed that she was still carrying the control panel. He looked closer at it for the first time and he suddenly realized that it actually looked suspiciously similar to a tablet computer. _Slade's first real mistake? _Diggle couldn't help but wonder hopefully.

Diggle watched as Roy put his fingers over Oliver's carotid pulse point before answering his question. He was worried that Roy needed to physically check instead of being able to just see Oliver's pulse. He waited for a minute with his heart in his mouth, knowing that Roy was being thorough by checking it for a full minute. Diggle was pleased to see that he had remembered the need to be completely thorough on all medical matters as he had spent no small amount of time trying to drum that necessity into the youth.

**_Roy's POV_**

"It's weak, but steady. No flutters or anything. His temperature is good too, a little low but not as bad as it could be." Roy answered both the voiced question and the unvoiced one that he knew Diggle had been about to ask next. He remembered enough of his first aid training from Diggle and Oliver to know that burns can lower your overall body temperature, dangerously so if you had enough burns _which Oliver definitely does!_

Roy could still feel the rage running through his own body and was only vaguely aware of the bullet wound in his own arm. He kept hold though, refusing to give the rage free reign yet. Once they were back at the cave and he had a minute to himself then he knew he would be smashing some more rocks. But for now there was too much he still had to do. He _had_ to keep calm for Thea, for Felicity, for Diggle, for Oliver! He had no intention of letting the Arrow down, letting Oliver down. He would _not _slip until it was safe.

He was unable to get the sounds of Oliver's moans out of his head, suspected he never would. The look of fear and pride on his girlfriend's face at her brother's actions would also stay with him forever. He was glad that Thea had finally been able to see who her brother really was, what he was willing to do – to sacrifice. He just hoped that it would help her to understand more deeply why they had told so many lies, kept so much from her. _Let her see the true Hero that Oliver really is. Please let her understand we were only ever trying to protect her, to keep her safe from all this!_

He was still astounded himself at what Oliver had just managed to do – and how he had done it without a single scream, only a few groans. It was utterly beyond him how Oliver could do that! _Slade said that he passed out at six milliamps last time, so how on earth can he now not only stay conscious but physically force himself through all that to get to the controls, only to know that he has to do it again to get back?! How can he stay so silent? What the hell has he been through to let him do that?! _Roy thought, even while knowing at the same time that he wasn't sure he wanted the answer.

_If this is the kind of thing he's been through, the kind of thing that this Island does, then it's no wonder he was as lethal as he was when he first came back. That's why he dropped so many bodies _Roy realized, thinking back to when Lance had shown both Thea and him the twenty-sixth corpse the Arrow had left behind. _Especially as he wasn't surrounded by his Team, Oliver was alone for a lot of that time. __Understanding more now of how incredibly hard life must have been for Oliver, Roy's respect for him grew even greater. __Felicity was right, he is a Hero._

Roy was scared for Oliver, for the pain that he knew he must be in. He hadn't been with the Team for all that long, but already he knew just how much it took for Oliver to pass out – and how fast he normally regained consciousness. _If he's still out cold then it must be _**_bad_**_! _He felt more admiration for the man that he'd thought was possible and was utterly in awe of him. _Oliver doesn't have any superpowers, he hasn't got the Mirakuru or anything else in him to help him. So how did he do it, how did he manage to stand the electricity, to stay quiet?_

Roy realized that Oliver's control was absolute, _it must be. _He understood that if he was going to survive this place, if he was going to help Thea survive the Island too, then his control would also have to be absolute. He looked to Felicity who had stayed by Oliver's side the entire time and saw that she was holding on to her emotions for dear life. It was clear how close to breaking she was and he knew he had to try to help.

"We've got him Felicity, Sara's getting the herbs. He's going to be okay." Roy put as much confidence and reassurance as he could manage into those three tiny sentences. He didn't feel anywhere near so sure himself, but he would fake it for everything he was worth to reassure the blonde who had taken such pains to visibly support him and to welcome him into Team Arrow. He knew just how much he owed her and he was not about to let her down.

He was more relieved than he could say when Yao Fei's cave finally came into view. It was killing him to hold back and wait a little longer for Diggle to give the all clear before they could properly help Oliver. But now, more than ever, he understood just how vital those checks were. Diggle gave him a nod signaling that it was all clear and he rushed inside the cave, laying Oliver down as gently as he could on a blanket, just as he regained consciousness and groaned in agony at the movement and contact. Roy saw the tears spill over from Felicity's eyes at the groan and the depth of emotion in the one word she spoke hit Roy hard.

"Oliver."

* * *

**AN2: Please do a writer a favour & be kind enough to review & let me know what you think - your reviews really do help to make my writing better. Thank you! :-D**


	42. Stepping Up

**Chapter 42 – Stepping Up**

**AN: Big thanks to KenyanCougar for doing the beta on this one, greatly appreciated honey! Rennie75 I hope you will enjoy the new ending since you saw this last hehe :-) Thanks also to all of you for your amazing support as ever! Love you all!**

_**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**_

**Disclaimer: You all know the deal, The CW owns Arrow.**

* * *

_Diggle gave him a nod signaling it was all clear and he rushed inside the cave, laying Oliver down as gently as he could on a blanket, just as he regained consciousness and groaned in agony at the movement and contact. Roy saw the tears spill over from Felicity's eyes at the groan and the depth of emotion in the one word she spoke hit Roy hard._

_"Oliver."_

_**Mixed POV**_

"Fe..lic..ity?" Oliver's voice was faint and broken, but Felicity was just relieved to hear him say her name as their eyes met. She could see how much pain he was in, even though he was trying to hide it as always and she knew that Diggle was the only other one who would be able to fully see it.

"Oliver, Sara's gone to get the herbs, she'll be back soon. We all made it back okay, everyone's safe." Diggle had seen the instant questions in Oliver's eyes and knew that the first thing he'd want to know about was everyone else, if _they _were safe.

"What about Roy's arm?" Oliver's voice was no longer broken, even though it was still weaker than normal.

"I'm fine Oliver, it's nothing. It'll be healed by tomorrow. What about _you_?" Roy answered for Diggle, unconsciously using Oliver's favorite word. He didn't know if he was amazed or irritated that even now Oliver was asking about someone else instead of being concerned about himself.

"I …" Oliver started to answer but before he could get any further Felicity interrupted him.

"Oliver I swear if you _dare_ say you're fine then so help me I will…" Before she could finish her threat however, Oliver interrupted her in turn.

"… have been better." Oliver looked Felicity in the eyes as he spoke, a hint of a grin on his face which both Diggle and Roy caught and they rolled their eyes at each other.

Diggle couldn't help thinking that the way the pair of them were behaving was more reassuring than anything else that either of them could have said or done. He had been so worried that Oliver would completely shut down emotionally, that he would have _had_ to in order to get through all of _that. _But, seeing the way that he was behaving with Felicity, Diggle now knew that he had nothing to worry about there. As always she was Oliver's light and she was anchoring him to her and preventing him from shutting himself off.

He knew that they were going to have a lot of work to do to care for Oliver's burns, even with the herbs they would still need cleaning, and Diggle couldn't help wishing for a second that he had access to sterile water at least. He wasn't sure what was going to be the best way to proceed considering the amount of Oliver's body that must be covered with the burns. He sighed as he thought, trying to figure out where to start.

"We're going to need more water Digg." Oliver spoke before Diggle had had a chance to work anything out.

Laurel instantly got up intending to go and fill up her own water bottle with water, but Roy stopped her from leaving the cave, much to her annoyance. "I'm going to get the water he needs." She informed him, using the tone that always worked to intimidate in the Courtroom, but she was surprised to find that it had no effect on Roy whatsoever.

"I need more than that Laurel." Oliver spoke before she had a chance to even form a question. "Roy you'll have to fill all the bottles as well as the bowl and tin please. That will have to do until Sara returns. Nobody else is to leave the cave. Is that understood?!" Oliver's voice was still weak and quiet, yet that thread of steal was clearly evident to all, much to their amazement.

Oliver let out another gasp of pain as he moved slightly. Roy grabbed everything that could hold water, using a kit bag to carry them, before running out of the cave to fill all the containers. While they were filling up he took a few seconds to release some of the rage that was coursing through him as he simply could not hold on any longer. He smashed several rocks and then saw a large tree trunk that must have been blown over in a storm. Without pausing to think, he smashed his fists into that as well and made quick work of turning it into small chunks. After a few more punches Roy started to take deep breaths to get his rage back under control, to clamp it back deep down inside himself once again.

Roy looked at the now smashed trunk and realized that what was left would make good firewood and so he gathered it into a pile. He picked up what he could and put it in the kit bag together with the now full water containers and made his way back to the cave, carrying the bowl and tin in his hands. He put the various containers by Diggle and Oliver, before emptying the wood onto an area that was not too far from the fire. Roy built the fire up again as Sara had showed him, remembering that Oliver would be losing a lot of body heat, his temperature would be dropping a lot from the burns. He then went back to retrieve the rest of the wood and added it to the new pile as well.

Diggle looked at Oliver, lost for once on where to start. Normally it was simple, pick the most life threatening injury and go from there. This time they were all burns though and it was not so easy to distinguish. He met Felicity's eyes as she helped Oliver to drink a little from one of the bottles and Diggle was not surprised to see the same thoughts mirrored in her eyes that he knew would be on show in his own.

Oliver wanted nothing more than to allow himself to pass out again, but he resisted as he knew that neither Diggle nor Felicity had ever dealt with burns on this scale before and that he would need to help them first. "You need to remove all fabric that is sticking to or touching the burns before cleaning and bathing each burn with cool water. Use the water to remove the fabric where it's stuck, exactly the same as you do for any other injury Digg. It doesn't matter where you start."

Diggle nodded his understanding and, taking a few deep breaths, made a start on using the water to remove the ruined tatters of Oliver's shirt. The Hood was the only thing that had survived the barbed wire and was still in one piece - _somehow_ Diggle realized unbelievingly. He was sickened by the sight of the burns, the sheer number of them was horrific. Very quickly Diggle realized that Oliver was still struggling to hold down his reactions for the sake of the others, wasting precious energy that he could little afford. There was fresh blood trickling down from his lip and Diggle could see that Oliver was biting it again to prevent screams. He looked at Felicity to see his own horror mirrored on her face, even though it was clear that she was trying to hide it.

Looking at back at Oliver, Diggle saw that they were going to have to remove Oliver's pants as well and he knew that his friend would not want the others to see the sheer volume of burns, as well as his other scars. Despite Oliver's earlier order, he realized that he would have to get them all to leave the cave, however Sara wasn't back yet and, like Oliver, he was worried about their safety. Diggle also knew that he would need a lot of help to deal with Oliver's burns, more than Felicity would be able to give on her own. But at the same time they could not risk all the others being outside if Roy was still inside helping him. There was no way that Thea and Lance would be a match for Slade or his goons if he chose to attack, even with Roy it would still be touch and go.

He wasn't sure what the best thing to do was,but knew that they couldn't afford to wait for Sara before helping Oliver, the longer his clothes were on the burns the worse the fabric was sticking. As much as Oliver hated to use any kind of painkillers, this was one time that he knew Oliver would have been forced to accept at least a small amount. But without any painkillers available, the only relief that Diggle could provide was the cool water and he did _not _want Oliver to have to wait any longer than he had to for that relief. Again he looked to Felicity, in the hope that she would know what to do.

Oliver saw all the emotions flicker over the faces of his partners and understood the problem straight away. He knew that Diggle was right, as much as he was worried about their safety, he did need them to leave so that he could let go. He would have to trust Roy, Thea, and Lance to protect themselves and the others. Oliver knew that he was teetering on the edge of losing control as it was and the last thing he wanted was for his Mom or sister to see the burns _or Laurel either_. Oliver knew that Diggle and Felicity would need help to treat all the burns fast enough. He also knew that he would need Felicity to give him the focus and the grounding to get through this, meaning that she would not be able to help Diggle as much as normal. _That only leaves Walter _Oliver realized. He thought about it for half a second before deciding, knowing that it would also give him the chance to talk to his step-father about what had happened.

"Walter." Oliver raised his voice as much as he could, it was still weak but Walter heard and was at his side almost instantly.

"How can I help son?" Walter asked, swallowing in horror as he saw the burns that were now on show where Diggle had managed to remove some of Oliver's shirt. _It's my fault! He had to do __**that**__, he had to get those burns because of _**_me_**_! _He resolved to do _whatever _it was that Oliver wanted, no matter what it was, if it would help Oliver then that was all that mattered. _I have to do __**something**_ _to help!_

"Diggle is going to need help to deal with all the burns and I need Felicity. Can you help him?" Oliver paused, watching the flood of emotions on his step-father's face. He could see that Walter was afraid of hurting him further or causing more damage and knew that he had to reassure him.

"I know that you're worried about hurting me. But this needs to be done and there are too many for Diggle to do alone." Again Oliver paused, hating what he was going to have to admit but knowing that he had no choice. "I need them to leave the cave Walter … I can't have them hearing me. I don't want them to see all the burns." He took a few deep breaths, wincing with the pain the movement caused. He was exhausted by the effort to stay focused and explain things properly, but he needed Walter to understand, to know that he needed his help.

"It's not safe for them to be outside without the Team protecting them. Thea is too new to all of this, she needs Roy and Lance to back her up. It will still be dangerous for them to be out there without us, but there is no choice. If we don't treat the burns soon then my temperature is going to start dropping too far and the herbs won't be able to help with that. I need to be able to keep you all safe and I can't do that if I'm out of action." Oliver tried to sit up as he spoke the last few words, groaning in pain at the attempt, but needing to emphasize that this _had_ to be done now or it would put them all at risk. _We don't have time to wait for Sara!_

Walter was amazed that even now, with his body covered in burns that must be causing him agony regardless of how much he was hiding it, Oliver was still putting everyone else first. It was clear that his step-son was more concerned about the safety of everyone else and that his own injuries only mattered in as much as they would affect his ability to keep the rest of them safe. Walter was still very worried about doing more harm than good, about how much he would hurt Oliver with his inexperience, but knew that there was no other choice in the matter. _If Oliver can bury his own hurt, can hide his pain in order to put everyone else first, then I can do no less. _He realized that, just as Thea had stepped up to take her place within the Team, it was time for him to step up and do his part to help Oliver. _If this is what he wants then it's what I will do._

Walter nodded to Oliver, confirming that he would do what Oliver asked, before looking to Diggle. "Show me what to do."

Oliver was more relieved than he wanted to admit that Walter had agreed. His pain levels were getting worse and he knew that they needed to move fast. He looked at Diggle, letting him know without words that he needed Diggle to explain to the others.

Diggle nodded once in response, knowing straight away what it was that Oliver needed. He looked at Walter as he spoke to him quietly. "Stay here. I'm going to let them know what is happening before I show you what to do." He saw Walter nod his agreement straight away as Diggle stood up and turned to address the rest of the group.

"Okay folks, we know that Oliver ordered you all to stay in the cave, but we are going to need some space to deal with all of Oliver's burns so we would appreciate it if you would go outside while we work." Diggle was careful to ensure that while he had worded it as a request, his tone made it clear that they were expected to do it immediately without any argument.

Oliver was unable to hold back a groan of pain as Felicity helped him to sit up properly at his unspoken request. Instantly all eyes were on him and Oliver hated the looks of horror and pity he could see on their faces. He noted that they were especially clear on his Mom's and Laurel's faces and he chose to focus instead on the three that he needed to talk to.

"Thea, Detective Lance, I need you both to back up Roy on guard. Roy take them to the other side of the clearing please. Make sure you can see the cave entrance." Oliver didn't bother to tell him to also ensure that he had good lines of sight for all the approaches into the clearing, knowing that the streetwise kid had been aware of the need for that even before he had started to train him. _That's the result of growing up in the Glades._

Roy started to lead them all back outside, meeting Oliver's eyes for a second as he went past. "Thank you." Roy said, speaking so quietly that he knew none of the others would be able to hear him.

Oliver heard Roy's thanks and nodded slightly in response, knowing that Roy had understood that he was putting him in charge of keeping them safe outside. _He's earned it, the way he kept hold back at graves proves that he is starting to keep real control. Looks like Thea really was the key. _Oliver had seen the looks that had flashed over Roy's face at Slade's voice, both at the recording and at the threat of shooting Thea, had known how furious he was. Yet, despite that, Roy had truly kept it together until it was safe to let go. The sound of the rocks being smashed when Roy had gone to get the water had not escaped Oliver's attention but he wasn't bothered by that, knowing that Roy had taken care to release the rage in a safe way that would not scare any of the others.

As the others started to follow Roy outside Felicity spoke up, much to Oliver's and Diggle's surprise. "Laurel, would you wait a moment please." Felicity deliberately ignored the looks from her Teammates, waiting until everyone else had left before continuing to speak to Laurel. "Do you still have that Tylenol?"

"Felicity!" Oliver growled out angrily.

"Oliver!" Felicity was quick to respond just as bluntly. "I know you hate using them and I know it's the last thing you want to do but we need to deal with the burns fast and we are going to be able to do it faster if we're not so worried about hurting you and that means you need to at least take a tiny bit of the edge off the pain!" She knew that wording it that way was the only chance she had of getting Oliver to agree. She had deliberately used the need for fast action that Oliver had used when talking to Walter. _If he thinks it's for our benefit, if it's about speed so that he's not out of action, then he's more likely to give in._

Oliver was a long way from impressed and had noted instantly that she had used his own reasoning with Walter but realized that, as much as he wanted to argue, it was still a solid point. If it had been anything stronger he still would have refused regardless, but Tylenol was mild enough that he, very reluctantly, gave in.

"Fine, but I'm only taking one dose." He agreed angrily and he glared at Felicity as Laurel handed over the packet before hastily retreating outside.

* * *

**AN2: As always I love hearing what you think - so please be kind enough to follow/fav/review if you think it deserves it. Thank you!**


	43. Strength

**Chapter 43 – Strength**

**AN: You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your fabulous support & reviews! You certainly know how to make a writer happy :-D**

**Big thanks go to Rennie75 for the superfast beta on this one - thank you sweety - & to KenyanCougar for the read throughs & help when stuck!**

**AN2: Plea for help - as you may know Rennie75, KenyanCougar & I all beta each other's work. However, we are now writing so much stuff that we are having problems keeping up with the beta work too. We are therefore looking for somebody to be a back up for when we need that extra help. They need to be a registered beta with very good grammatical skills & who also the time to do this. They need to be familiar with the work of all three of us as well as being pro Olicity (& not necessarily a fan of Laurel lol!). If you think this might be you then please message one of us to discuss. Thank you! :-D**

**WARNING: This chapter discusses the aftermath of torture, again in line with the show, but if you are sensitive please exercise caution. Very sorry I forgot these warnings on the last few chapters!**

**_As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)_**

**Disclaimer: You all know the deal, The CW owns Arrow - where you recognise dialogue they wrote it.**

* * *

"_Fine, but I'm only taking one dose." He agreed angrily and he glared at Felicity as Laurel handed over the packet before hastily retreating outside._

**_Mixed POV_**

Felicity took the packet of Tylenol from Laurel, relieved that Oliver had given in even if it was clearly reluctantly. She removed one dose from the packet and held it out to him before passing the water again to wash it down. Felicity put her hand on Oliver's arm, being careful to avoid the burns, as she spoke.

"Now will you _please _lie down and just let us do this?!" She was impressed at Oliver's ability to hold on this long, but she knew that he was struggling more than he was willing to admit, _even to Diggle and me_.

Felicity could see that Oliver couldn't afford to waste any more energy fighting to keep it together. She just hoped that the Tylenol would start to work soon and that, mild though it was, it would at least take a small bit of the edge off of his pain. She was relieved when Oliver nodded his agreement and accepted her help to lie back down, wincing as he moved. Felicity was finding it hard to see him in the state that he was in and she knew that the pain must be vicious for him to wince so clearly. She kept her eyes fixed on his as she held his hand, knowing that he was drawing strength from her**_._**

Diggle showed Walter what they needed to do and they began the painstaking business of removing the stuck clothing and dealing with each burn as they went. Both men were also finding it hard to ignore the winces and moans of pain from Oliver as they worked. Hard as it was to hear though, Diggle was impressed that Oliver was willing to trust Walter enough to let go a little more and not hide his pain so completely. He knew that that was not something that the younger man did easily. The process was very slow going and in several places his clothes were so badly stuck that it required Walter to pour the water as Diggle pulled the clothing while holding Oliver still with his other hand. On each of those occasions Oliver let out a low scream.

Walter had never heard his step-son give even a low scream before when he was awake and the fact that he would do so now, after going through all of _that_ without letting out a full scream, was scaring him badly. Both Diggle and Felicity were intimately familiar with Oliver's incredibly high thresholds for dealing with pain and, even though the Tylenol was only mild and not strong enough to have affected his control, it should also have at least taken the edge off a little. Therefore, the fact that Oliver now let out those low screams was enough to make Diggle blanch and the tears that had been threatening at the edge of Felicity's eyes started to fall.

Instantly Oliver turned to her, ignoring completely the work that Diggle and Walter were doing as well as the pain the movement caused him. "Hey, hey, shh, shh, shh, it's alright. Don't cry Felicity, it's okay." He spoke as gently as he could, trying desperately to reassure her and hating himself for being weak enough to let those screams out. The last thing he had wanted to do was to cause his girl pain! "I'm sorry Felicity, I didn't mean to upset you, I shouldn't have screamed." Oliver was furious with himself and it showed in his voice.

"You have nothing to be sorry for Oliver!" Felicity responded quickly, angry at herself for worrying him. "You are allowed to show your pain you know! I'm crying for what you had to do, for your burns, not because you upset me!" Her words were heartfelt and her voice was filled with emotion as she spoke, needing him to know he hadn't done _anything_ wrong.

"You don't need to cry for that Felicity. They're just burns, they will heal. I'm sorry I let the pain show though, I shouldn't have done that." Oliver saw her look of disbelief at his words and quickly noticed that it was matched by the looks on Diggle's and Walter's faces. He knew they didn't understand and that Walter in particular was struggling.

"How can you say that son?! For that matter how were you even able to _do_ _that_ in the first place - let alone stay so quiet at the same time?" Walter couldn't help but ask, even though he hadn't intended to. But now that he'd started speaking he couldn't stop. "Slade said on the recording that you passed out at that level last time, so if that's true then how on earth could you not only stay conscious, but do all _that_ as well _and_ still stay so quiet?!" His voice was breaking as the stress of the last few hours told on him.

"Slade was telling the truth, I did pass out at six milliamps last time. But the man I was then and the man I am now are two very different men - and this time you were all here relying on me..." Oliver looked to Felicity as he continued. "...believing in me." He looked back at Walter "A good friend once told me that you can stare down death with something to live for or not – something to live for is better."

Walter saw the hint of a grin cross Diggle's face at that and realized that he was the good friend that Oliver was quoting.

"Slade set that trap like that with more than one goal in mind. He knew what hearing my screams did to Sara, what hearing that kind of pain and torture can do to people. He wants me to know true despair Walter. Knowing that my screams had done that same damage to all of you would..." Oliver broke off, unable to finish that sentence, to even think of causing his family, his friends, _Felicity,_ that kind of damage. "There was no way I was going to let him do that." Oliver looked to Felicity and Diggle, needing to know they understood and he was relieved to see their support.

Walter was stunned by Oliver's words even as he understood them. He had taken the trap at face value, hadn't even stopped to consider that Slade could have had more than one aim. He was utterly amazed by Oliver, he had been more than impressed enough that his step-son hadn't even hesitated to put himself through all that in the first place. But now, knowing that Oliver had not only realized that he _had_ to do it, but also that he had to do it _quietly_ - Walter was completely overawed by his strength and the man Oliver had become.

At the same time he felt even guiltier that he had been the one to cause Oliver to have to go through the whole thing in the first place. "I am truly sorry that you had to go through all that because of me son!" Walter knew the words were woefully inadequate but they were all he had and he filled them with heartfelt remorse.

"It wasn't your fault Walter." Oliver replied.

"How can you say that? _I'm_ the one who trod on that damned plate setting the whole thing off!" Walter could not comprehend why Oliver wasn't mad with him, why he didn't even seem to blame him.

"If it hadn't been you it would have been someone else, or Slade would have just triggered it another way. He set all that up before he even trapped us here and there was no way we were going to get away without me going through the fencing."

"Oliver's right Walter." Sara said from the cave entrance, making Walter jump.

Sara came back into the cave as she spoke, carrying a bundle in one hand that was clearly her top and in the other hand she had her bo staff. Her scars were clearly on view as her sports bra did not cover the majority of them. She had several fresh cuts across her arm and face and some heavy bruising was starting to appear as well, especially across her ribs. Sara ignored the gasps that were coming from Walter at the sight of her and her scars and she went straight to Diggle and Oliver before opening up her top to reveal the large collection of Yao Fei's herbs that she had used it to carry.

"What happened to you?" Diggle asked. He held out some herbs to Oliver as Felicity passed him the water bottle again, before looking back to Sara for her answer.

"Slade had one of his goons follow me." Sara answered briefly.

"Sara?!" Oliver queried quietly but firmly, making it clear that she needed to tell them more information than that, he needed the details of what had happened. He took some of the herbs as he waited for Sara to answer, relieved that she had been able to find them and had made it back in one piece by their standards. He could see from the way she was still moving fairly fluidly that her ribs were bruised and not cracked so he wasn't worried about them.

"I'm fine Oliver, he might have had the strength from the Mirakuru, but he had no real training. He caught up to me at the top of the high waterfall, before I was anywhere near the herbs. We fought, I won." Sara paused but, seeing the insistence on Oliver's face, she then continued to explain. "Slade obviously thought I wouldn't be that hard to kill. The goon ended up at the bottom of the waterfall and you know what the rocks are like down there, even with the Mirakuru that's asking a lot."

**_Sara's POV_**

She knew that Oliver would have wanted to know not only if Slade's man was dead, but also if Slade had managed to discover the location of the herbs. "I don't think Slade knows where they are, otherwise he would have had him waiting for me there instead of following me. I took as many as I could carry though anyway." She finished, explaining why she had used her top to carry them, as she had not initially planned on needing to carry that amount and they had not taken the kit bags to the graves with them.

Oliver nodded at Sara's explanation and she could see that he accepted the logic of her argument. She cast an eye over Oliver's body trying to get a read on how bad his injuries were to see if she could figure out how long he would be out of action. _Nowhere near as long as he should be_ Sara couldn't help thinking, remembering back to how fast he had been up after Slade used the generator on him. _He didn't let himself heal properly that time either. _Sara could see that Diggle was about to make a start on removing Oliver's pants and she knew the burns on the lower half of his body were likely to be the worst as that had been in contact with both the electric wire and the barbed wire the most. As much as she wanted to stay and help, especially as she had dealt with burns before, Sara knew that it was more important to protect the others.

"Thank you for helping Walter." Sara said gratefully as she nodded to her Teammates before going back outside.

Sara left her top on the ground by Felicity with all the herbs still in it, going on the gasps as she had arrived back the others had already seen her scars at least in passing so there was no point hiding them now. She went straight to Roy needing to update him on Slade's goon and check how he had shared out the watch. She could already see that Thea and Lance were watching different areas to Roy and that all three were very wary, but Sara knew that it was always best to check what instructions had been given regardless. They spoke quietly for a few seconds as Sara determinedly ignored the others staring at her scars. Roy had at least seen most of what was now on view before and he knew better than to react to any of their scars.

She nodded her approval of how he had split the watch areas up and understood that they had gone so far out on Oliver's instructions. However, now that they knew Slade had sent one of his men after her she was wary of them being so close to the edge of the forest. Sara could see that if they moved too much closer to the cave then they would be able to hear Oliver's moans of pain, which was the last thing he wanted. She also realized though that it was more important to keep them safe and knew that Oliver would say the same thing. She decided to compromise by bringing them to the area of the clearing where they ate. The viewpoints were good there for security and at the same time it was still far enough that they wouldn't be able to hear the majority of Oliver's groans.

"One of Slade's men came after me, I'm fine, he's not. But that means we need to be even more careful so I need you all to come further into the clearing, it's too dangerous out here on the edge right now." Sara stated bluntly.

**_Moira's POV_**

Moira nodded her understanding, scared by the thought that Slade had sent someone after Sara and shocked by the amount of scars she could see now on show on Sara's body. They weren't as vicious or as varied as Oliver's, but they were awful nonetheless and she could see that Sara must have suffered badly too. She brought her attention back to Sara's words as she suddenly realized what going closer to the cave again would mean.

"What about Oliver, they asked for _privacy_?" Moira emphasized the last word knowing that Sara would understand that she meant privacy from being overheard. She understood what Sara was saying and knew that she was right about the danger, but at the same time she had seen her son's face and knew just how much he would hate having them hear his pain again.

**_Sara's POV_**

Sara dipped her head slightly in acknowledgement as she answered. "I know – and I know that going closer means you will be likely to hear him and that will be hard. But Oliver knows it's more important for you to be safe. The last thing that he would want is for any of you to be at risk – he just went through all of that specifically to keep you safe." Sara reminded them bluntly, knowing that what she was saying was hard and that what they had just seen was tearing them up inside, but there was no choice. _The Island doesn't make allowances for time to deal with things. _Sara thought darkly.

"Listen, I understand how you are feeling. I know how hard it's going to be to hear his pain, especially after what you just saw. I heard him screaming in agony the first time remember - and that's something neither of us **_ever _**wanted you to know let alone experience. But we need you - _he_ needs you - to not focus on what you hear okay." Sara started to walk toward the clearing as she talked and keeping an eye on the surrounding area the whole time too, glad to see that they followed her.

"Yes Oliver is badly hurt, even by our standards, but it's not the first time and it probably won't be the last either. Oliver will be okay, he will recover. Yes he will have more scars, but we both gave up on trying to avoid scars a long time ago." She paused slightly as Oliver let out another yelp of pain that she could see they had all clearly heard.

Sara gauged their reactions and she tried to figure out what to say next. Moira was incredibly pale and shaking slightly, Laurel looked green and Sara wasn't sure if she was about to lose her stomach contents. Thea had blanched badly but Sara was impressed to see that she was still trying to do the job that Oliver had given her. Roy's face was stony and she knew that he was shutting out the sounds just as she did. Her dad was staring at her scars and she could see that he was trying to work out how she got them. It was clear that the sound of Oliver's pain was hitting him hard and that it wasn't helping either, she could see he was wondering if that was how she had sounded too. Sooner or later she was going to have to talk to him again, much as she didn't want to.

_Felicity is way better at this emotions thing than me! _Sara thought before she suddenly realized that Felicity had already given her the answers, had told her what to say. She went over Felicity's speech from yesterday morning in her mind choosing the bits to repeat and altering them slightly as needed.

"I know how hard it is to get past the sounds of Oliver's pain and that they are going to be going around in your minds for a long time. But you need to get past them just as Felicity told you yesterday. I can see the pity on your faces, Oliver doesn't need that pity and he certainly doesn't want it! I can see it when you look at my scars too and I don't need or want it either. I am not going to tell you how I got them unless it becomes relevant so don't bother asking." Sara's voice was pure steel as she spoke and she saw her sister take a half-step back at her words and tone of voice.

"You're not going to get what you just witnessed out of your head either, but you do need to stop focusing on the injuries it caused and see the strength that he has that enabled him to do that. You all saw how close he was to passing out when Roy tried to help. But the minute that Slade threatened to shoot Thea as well he found the strength to continue. You need to see _that_, see the man who never gives up, never gives in no matter what."

Sara turned to Roy, quietly backing the fact that Oliver had left him in charge by speaking to him specifically. "I'm going to higher ground to check the surrounding area. Stay here, I won't be long." She saw him register the silent compliment and the appreciation that flashed quickly over his face. _Oliver's right, the kid did good, he's earned this._ She ran off at top speed, picking up Oliver's bow and quiver and leaving the staff behind, knowing that from higher ground the bow would be of more use.

Once she reached the best vantage point for the area surrounding Yao Fei's cave she stopped, scanning the area for any signs of danger, of Slade. At the same time she took a few minutes to ground herself and recover her own inner equilibrium. Seeing Oliver go through all of that, whilst being unable to do anything to help, had been hard on her too and she hated how helpless she had felt. Sara knew that there was a good chance she would be remembering his screams from the Amazo in her nightmares again that night.

* * *

**AN2: You guys know the deal - please be sweet enough to let me know what you think, thank you! The Muse is few by reviews lol (& Mint Chip apparently hehe!) :-D**


	44. Revealing the Strength

**Chapter 44 – Revealing the Strength**

**AN: HAPPY ANNIVERSARY RENNIE75 – 6 MONTHS OF WRITING FF TODAY! Whoop, Whoop! What a ride's it been too – thank you for letting me share most of it with you! I wouldn't have missed it for the world! Never dreamed I would find a best friend here but I have & I am utterly grateful to you cariad bach! Thank you so much for your amazing friendship, support, & beta work!**

**If you have not yet read Rennie's fics then please help celebrate her 6 months by them a try – I promise you will not regret it! In fact she has a wonderful new fic going up today that follows on & builds from her super popular 'Lessons Learned' that she so kindly keeps letting me borrow from – check it out!**

**Thank you so much to all of you who have stuck with me on The Island – 2 months today since that first chapter!**

**WARNING: This chapter discusses the aftermath of torture, again in line with the show, but if you are sensitive please exercise caution.**

_**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**_

**Disclaimer: You all know the deal, The CW owns Arrow, we are only playing in their sandbox.**

* * *

_Seeing Oliver go through all of that, whilst being unable to do anything to help, had been hard on her too and she hated how helpless she had felt. Sara knew that there was a good chance she would be remembering his screams from the Amazo in her nightmares again that night._

_**Sara's POV**_

Sara returned to the camp with two hares that she had caught on the way back. None of them had had anything to eat that day and she knew that the two hares would not be much at all for the ten of them, but she didn't want to be gone any longer without telling them. She resolved to go out again later in the evening to check all the traps and catch some birds if need be as she knew that while Oliver was recovering the hunting would be all down to her.

She gave the all clear signal as she returned to the camp, noting that Roy relaxed slightly upon hearing it and Sara was pleased to notice that he had registered her arrival even before he would have been able to see her. She nodded in response to his silent question to confirm that everything seemed to be clear, before she returned to the cave to prepare and cook the food. As Sara entered the cave she saw Felicity very carefully laying a blanket over Oliver, his pants were still to the side along with the shredded remnants of his shirt and she realized that they didn't dare put them back on him while his burns were still so raw.

Oliver was breathing heavily, his body taught with tension and pain and his eyes were locked solidly on Felicity's. Sara noticed that Oliver didn't even look up as she entered even though he would definitely have heard her. She realized that was a sign of how bad he must be – and of how much he trusted Diggle to have his back. She was impressed by that, the Oliver she had left on the Amazo with Slade would not have been able to trust that way. From what she'd heard of most of Oliver's first year back in Starling that Oliver wouldn't have been able to trust that much either. She knew that he had started to change, to trust again, once Felicity had entered his life and she was amazed by just how much good Felicity had done.

Sara realized that she herself had been changing too as she spent more time around the remarkable blonde. Only a few months ago she would never have trusted anyone other than Oliver to keep her family safe and even then she had had to come back and check for herself. Yet here, on the Island of their nightmares, she had gone off leaving them in the care of Roy. For with Diggle busy with Oliver's treatment and with Thea being so new to everything it really had been down to Roy she came to realize. It seemed that Felicity did not just give her light to Oliver, but to her too.

As she prepared the food Sara looked at Walter and she could see that he was taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts together. _Not surprised, dealing with those burns would be hard on any of us and he's never had to do anything like this before. _She was quietly impressed that Oliver's step-father had actually managed to assist Diggle and that he had clearly kept it together enough to do so. He was ashen and his breathing was slightly ragged, showing just how badly all of this was affecting him, but that just impressed her more for she could see that he had been able to conquer his emotions long enough to do what was required.

Walter got to his feet as Sara put the food on the spit to begin to cook it. Sara both saw and heard him take a few more deep breaths and it was clear that Oliver had heard them too as he turned away from Felicity to face Walter.

_**Mixed POV**_

"Thank you Walter." Oliver said with heartfelt appreciation for everything his step-father had done over the past hours. He knew that it had been very hard on Walter and that it had taken a real toll. He could see how exhausted he was and Oliver wished that he had never had to ask for Walter's help, even as he knew that there had been no choice.

Walter met Oliver's look and took another deep breath as he answered, his voice slightly ragged with emotion. "No Oliver, it's us who should be thanking you son. You went so far above and beyond what anybody could ever have expected or asked of you today and I am more proud than I can say to be able to call you my son!"

Oliver nodded his acknowledgement and appreciation of Walter's statement, knowing that for Walter that was the highest compliment he could give. Oliver didn't think of himself as his son, he never would, but he knew that that was not the point. He held Walter's gaze for a moment before the older man nodded his thanks again and left the cave.

"Do you think he's alright?" Diggle asked, worried about the toll that dealing with the burns would have had on Walter. He agreed that it had been necessary to have help and that Walter had needed to do something to help as he had clearly been feeling very guilty about triggering the trap, _even though it wasn't his fault _Diggle knew. He had found it hard enough to deal with the sheer volume of burns Oliver had sustained. Knowing that he was causing his friend pain and hearing that pain, even as he worked to treat the burns, had been incredibly tough for Diggle. _How much harder must it have been for Walter?_

"Give him time." Felicity advised, seeing that Diggle was considering going after him. "He needs to process all of this and he needs some space to do that."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

_**Sara's POV**_

Once it was cooked, Sara split a little of the food between the four of them, before taking the rest out to the others and shared out the meager rations between them. She could see from their faces that they were all still struggling and clearly needed to talk. She didn't know whether she should say anything else to them or not and wished that Felicity was out here too as she would know what was best. Thea walked past her, catching her eye as she went and Sara realized that she wanted to speak to her in private. They walked a short distance away but still being careful to stay within the line of visions of the others. Sara looked to Thea, waiting for the teen to say what was on her mind.

"They need to talk it through, but they can't do that with you and Roy here. Can we give them some space, somehow? Is it safe?" Thea spoke in a very low voice, doing her best to ensure that Sara would be the only one to hear.

Sara was quietly pleased to see that she was thinking about their safety and not just what they wanted. She thought about it for a minute, realizing that Thea was right. If they were going to be able to work things through then they did need to be able to talk freely and honestly and they weren't going to be able to do that if they were worried about what the Team was going to say or think.

Sara could remember how hard it had been for her to deal with and work out what she was feeling, what she needed to do, after she had heard Oliver's screams on the Amazo. Anatoli had stood by her and made the others back off to give her space when they had captured Hendrick to trade for Oliver. He had also made the others leave the fuselage so that she could look after Oliver after they had got him back from Slade. Sara realized that it was now her turn to do the same for the others. She nodded to Thea, knowing that she would understand that she was agreeing to her request.

"Roy." Sara called softly and waited for him to join them as Thea returned to their families. She spoke to him quickly and quietly, explaining what Thea had said and what she had asked for.

"Thea's a lot better at this feelings stuff than me, if she thinks that's what they need then I trust her." Roy gave his girlfriend his instant support even though she was no longer next to him to hear it.

Sara was impressed by his loyalty to Thea and she could see clearly now what Oliver had seen for some months now. Roy truly loved and trusted Thea and was willing to follow her lead. Sara suddenly realized just how strong Roy's love for her must be if he had been able to win round Oliver as the disapproving older brother! _No wonder she is the key to his control._ Sara nodded her head slightly in agreement with Roy's words.

She called to her Dad saying that she needed Roy to give her a hand to gather some more wood and water. She said that they wouldn't be long though and asked him to help Thea keep watch while they were gone. Sara could see from their faces that they didn't believe her for one minute, but as nobody questioned it she knew they understood that she and Roy were giving them the space they needed.

_**Mixed POV**_

"What is it Walter?" Moira asked once Sara and Roy had left. She could see that he was struggling with things and she suspected it was something that they did not know about from the way he had been withdrawn from their conversation. "Is Oliver going to be okay?"

Walter looked up, unsure as to whether he should tell them or not. _Oliver was open about it, he didn't say to keep it quiet. _After considering for a minute, he realised that it was important for them all to know just how amazing Oliver's actions had been, the strength he had shown, and what he had done for them even beyond what they already knew. "Did you realize that the trap was more than just the explosive?"

"What do you mean?" Lance asked, unsure as to what Walter was getting at and worried about what they were going to find out now. At the same time he knew that if there had been more to the trap than they had thought then it was important to know.

"Oliver … when I was helping Diggle with his burns …" Walter was struggling to answer and kept pausing. He was glad that none of the others were rushing him or pushing him, but instead were giving him the time he needed to explain this in his own way. "…I asked him how he could not only stay conscious, but do all _that_ as well _and_ still stay so quiet." He looked at Moira, Lance, and Laurel knowing that they had shared the same query and had been just as amazed at how quiet Oliver had been.

"Oliver told me that Slade had set that trap like that with more than one goal in mind. He said that Slade knew what hearing his screams did to Sara, what hearing that kind of pain and torture can do to people." Walter paused again, struggling to say the words but refusing to let Oliver's amazing bravery go unknown. "Oliver said that Slade wants him to know true despair and that knowing that his screams had done that same damage to all of us would have been more than he could stand. Oliver told me that there was no way he was going to let Slade do that."

He let them take in his words and understand what Oliver had told him for a minute before continuing. "He did that for _us_, Oliver stayed quiet for _us_, to save _us_ pain! Even now he's doing the same thing, he was in agony as Diggle and I dealt with those burns yet he still let out only a few low screams. Moira, your son is braver than we could have ever imagined, the strength he has is incredible, to do _that_!" Walter exclaimed as his voice broke, unable to comprehend the amazing self-sacrificing strength of his step-son.

Moira was stunned. She was beginning to wonder if her son would ever stop surprising her with what he could do, what he was willing to do for others. She thought back to his comments on their first day on the Island. She remembered how scared she had been by him saying that having that shrapnel in his back and Sara removing it wasn't pain. She had been aghast at the thought of just what _would _qualify as pain in Oliver's world. Now she knew and that knowledge was tearing her apart. Moira was more proud of him than she had ever thought she could be, but at the same time her heart was breaking for her beautiful boy. Unable to keep them in any more, the tears streamed down her face as she walked away from the group as fast as she could.

Walter went after Moira, hating to see her so upset. It was hard enough for him to see his step-son like this and to have seen and learnt all that he had today, so how much harder must it be for her. _To see _yourson_, _your child_ go through that must be one of the hardest things ever! _He stopped her before she could go too far, knowing that safety would be the last thing on her mind. It was the last thing he wanted to think about right now either, but he was damned if he was going to let her put herself at risk after everything Oliver had done for them today.

Thea noted that Walter had stopped her Mom from going too far and she was relieved by that as she hadn't wanted to have to go after her as well. She knew that her Mom needed space and she really wanted to respect that as much as she could – without breaking the Team's orders however!

Laurel looked at her Dad, she could see he was trying to work something out and wondered what. It seemed that he was hesitant to ask about it though so she decided to give him the prompt that he hopefully wanted. "What is it Dad?"

"The warning shots." Lance answered. He could see that Laurel was looking at him blankly as he opened his mouth to continue to explain, but before he could start to speak however, Thea answered his unvoiced question.

"Slade said there wouldn't be a third warning shot, but you only saw one. You want to know about the other one don't you." Thea had known that this would come up from the moment that Slade had given it away. She hadn't planned on being the one to answer, in fact she was really worried about revealing that answer without the permission of the Team. Her brother had trusted her to be a part of Team Arrow, they all had, and she wasn't about to let them down now! At the same time however, she could see that they genuinely needed to know, that order had been given before Slade had revealed about the shot and Thea wasn't sure if that changed Oliver's order or not.

Thea looked at Lance as he nodded in response to confirm that that was what he wanted to know. At the same time she saw a movement beyond him at the cave entrance. She looked over Lance's shoulder properly and was glad to see Diggle there nodding at her. She knew that he would not have been able to hear their conversation, but that Oliver would of course. Thea just hoped she was right in that Diggle's nod was them giving her permission to answer.

"Yesterday when Oliver and Roy went hunting Slade was watching them. He used to be a sniper so he is very good with guns. Oliver had had a feeling that someone was watching them but he hadn't been able to spot anyone. Slade fired then and grazed Oliver's side with a single shot, leaving track marks and burns from the bullet. Oliver didn't want you to know, he didn't want you to be more scared or worried before going to the graves, but that was Slade's first warning shot."

Laurel staggered away a few steps before finally losing the battle to keep her stomach, stopping her Dad from questioning any further in the process. He went straight to her side and helped to support her as he held her hair out of the way just as he had done when she was younger and he was glad that he was able to do something practical to help at least one of his daughters still.

After a minute or so her heaves finally stopped and Laurel stood back up and gave her Dad a tight hug, needing to hold on to something, _someone, _solid. Everything else was changing so fast that she was struggling to keep up but her Dad was always there for her, and for Sara, and she was more grateful than she could say to have him there with her. For the first time she could really start to comprehend why Sara – and Oliver – had been so shut off upon their returns. How they had dealt with everything that this Island had done to them, without having the back up of families or friends there with them was beyond her.

As Laurel looked back to Thea she saw that Walter and Moira were rejoining them now, as were Sara, Roy, and Diggle. Diggle held out a bottle of water to her without saying anything and she nodded her grateful thanks, both for the water, and also for not saying anything about her having been sick.

Sara could see how desperate both her sister and the others were for someone to lighten the moment as the tension was getting too much for them all. For once the right words came to her easily, much to her surprise.

"So how long do you think we'll be able to make him rest for this time?" Sara asked in an off-hand manner, knowing that no matter what it wouldn't be long enough, and that the question would certainly catch the interest of the others.

"Longer than he wants to – did you see Felicity's face?!" Diggle replied with a grin and Sara smirked in response.

"Okay you've left us behind again – mind sharing the joke?" Detective Lance asked. "What's Felicity's face got to do with how long Oliver rests?" He was surprised when Sara, Diggle, and Roy all laughed at that. The last thing he'd expected to hear from any of them today was laughter! From the bemused faces of the rest of the group he could see that they didn't understand what the joke was either.

Diggle calmed his laughs enough to answer the Detective. "Felicity is the only one Oliver is truly scared of. She's the only one that can make him do something he doesn't want to – like taking that Tylenol from Laurel." Diggle managed to get out while still grinning.

Sara could see that her Dad and the others didn't believe Diggle, even though they had all seen Angry Felicity in action it appeared that they had yet to learn Roy's Lessons. She let out another short laugh at that before speaking to Roy. "Roy, tell them what your version of the end of the seventh Lesson you learned is."

"Sure – Lesson #7 – Never bet against Felicity!"

* * *

**AN2: As always, I love to hear what you think & am very grateful to those of you who follow/fav/review! Please be kind enough to do so if you think this chapter is worth it, thank you!**


	45. Four Little Words

**Chapter 45 – Four Little Words**

**AN: Huge thanks to all of you for your fabulous support, really do appreciate it! Thanks also to all of you who have offered to help with betaing - it's greatly appreciated! Rennie75 thanks loads for the incredibly fast beta on this - you're such a star! KenyanCougar thank you for your support & helping me feed the Muse lol!**

**WARNING: This chapter discusses the aftermath of torture, again in line with the show, but if you are sensitive please exercise caution.**

**_As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)_**

**Disclaimer: You all know the deal, The CW owns Arrow**

* * *

_Sara could see that her Dad and the others didn't believe Diggle, even though they had all seen Angry Felicity in action it appeared that they had yet to learn Roy's Lessons. She let out another short laugh at that before speaking to Roy. "Roy, tell them what your version of the end of the seventh Lesson you learned is."_

_"Sure – Lesson #7 – Never bet against Felicity!"_

**_Oliver's POV_**

Oliver heard the conversation going on between the others in the clearing and couldn't help but give the tiniest hint of a smile. Roy still thought he wasn't aware of the Lessons and Rules, but of course he was. He had known about them from the start, he just hadn't let Roy know that. Oliver thought about the Lesson that Sara had prompted Roy to share and he knew that she was right. The whole reason that they had managed to beat that trap was Felicity. Slade had bet against her, he had thought that the timing was too tight _and it nearly was. _Slade had made the cardinal error of underestimating her, _of betting against Felicity, _and because of that they had beaten the trap.

Yes, Roy had been shot. Yes, he was covered in burns and in a lot of pain. But there was nothing that wouldn't heal. Oliver knew that the burns would leave behind yet more scars but, as he had heard Sara telling the others, they had long since given up trying to avoid getting new scars. They had beat Slade's trap and he knew that Felicity was the reason – not just because Slade had underestimated her, but also because she was the one who gave him the strength to do it. Slade had unwittingly given him the strength to make it the last stretch back by threatening Thea. Slade had also unknowingly given him strength by having Felicity there and threatening her along with everyone else. That was what had given Oliver the strength and the drive to make it through as far as he had in the first place.

Oliver was willing to admit to himself that he had been worried in no small amount when he first saw the trap. He had known straight away that Slade was just as keen on hurting him by causing that damage to the others when they heard him scream, as he was on causing Oliver physical pain. He knew just how bad the pain was going to be – and that it was going to last a lot longer than he'd known before. The pain was only part of it though, he was terrified of what would happen if he failed though, his friends, his family. _Felicity! _All he could think about was the damage his screams were going to do to them. But then Felicity had spoken up and everything had changed.

"_I believe in you." _Four tiny little words and yet they were incredibly powerful. Those four little words, when spoken by Felicity, had the power to make him do almost anything – and suddenly he hadn't been afraid of failing anymore. To fail Felicity was unthinkable. Just the thought of that, of her in danger, had been enough to give him the boost of adrenaline he knew he needed to face the trap. He could not fail her, _would _not fail her. In his need to keep her safe, to protect her, there was nothing he wouldn't do, couldn't do. If he didn't do it then she would die, so there really had been no choice to make.

Yet again he had been amazed by how remarkable Felicity was. It seemed that there was truly nothing she couldn't do with technology – or many others things for that matter. Even in the midst of all of that, out here away from her own computers and software, Felicity had still been able to shut out all distractions and have the focus she needed to hack those controls. Oliver knew many experienced soldiers wouldn't have been able to focus that completely, and yet she had not only done it in time, but she had also given him the support he needed. Yet again she had given him the gift of her belief, had given him her strength to make it back to her.

Even afterwards she had stayed by his side. Felicity had not been put off by his burns or the sounds of his pain. She had never left his side and yet again she had provided the focus and strength he needed to get through Diggle and Walter treating the burns and removing the fabric. She had taken his hand in hers and had held on, squeezing gently whenever she saw that he was slipping so as to bring his focus fully back to her. Oliver knew that she still didn't realize just how important she was to him, how much he needed her in his life, but after how close things had come today he was also starting to realize that he needed to do something about that. _To risk losing her again, without her knowing that…_ Oliver couldn't even finish the thought in his own head. She was _His Girl_ and somehow he needed to find a way to let her know that, to let her know that she was more than just his partner.

"Thank you Felicity. You really were remarkable today." Oliver said, letting his emotions show through as clearly as he could. He was still having to hold on as tight as he could to those emotions though as he knew that he had to keep control to keep his pain clamped down.

**_Felicity's POV_**

Felicity shook her head and smiled as she replied. "No Oliver, I just did what I had to, we both did. You don't need to thank me for that." Despite his words, Felicity knew that _he_ was the one who was truly remarkable.

She thought back, remembering the trap itself and everything that had happened there. She had seen the look on his face when he heard the recording of Slade and had understood the second purpose of the trap. Felicity had understood straight away that Slade intended to destroy Oliver by damaging them through his screams. There was no way she was going to let him do that to Oliver though. _He's already shot him – yet again – but he is NOT going to get to Oliver through us too!_

Felicity had known that Oliver was strong enough to do what needed to be done, she had seen him deal with immense pain silently more than enough times before. She realized that this would be worse and longer than anything she knew of that he'd been through, _not that he's told me everything of course,_ but he was stronger than he ever realized. She understood that she had to give him that belief in himself and so even though she had been scared to speak, worried that she would babble and distract him, Felicity had still spoken the four little words that she knew had more power to give him strength than anything else. _I believe in you._

It had broken her heart to watch him fighting his way through the wire, she had seen every little movement, every time that the barbed wire had caught him forcing him to be in contact with the electricity for longer. Every tremor of his body had been as clear to her as the loudest scream, she had felt the pain of every tremor along with him. Every single one had made her prouder still of Oliver, of the man he had become, of the Hero that she knew he was even if he still wouldn't accept it yet.

Felicity's thoughts returned to the control pad. The minute that Diggle had thrust it at her she had shut out everything else, her focus completely on it. Straight away she had seen that it had its basis in a normal tablet operating system. But whoever had programed it had known what they were doing, they had been nearly as good as her. Every time she was sure that she had it something else had appeared blocking her path. Felicity remembered her fear, she had been so scared that she wasn't going to be able to do break through the system in time.

She had started to really panic when she heard Diggle quietly say her name. Felicity knew that he would never interrupt her while she was working unless he had no choice and therefore that had meant their time was fast running out. Her concentration had been faltering; her fears starting to get the better of her, the fear of failing overwhelming her, when she had heard Oliver speak. _I believe in you._

_Four words, just four little words and yet they gave me the strength to do it. He gave me the focus I needed. _He _is the reason we are all still alive. _She had been able to refocus, no longer any doubt in her mind. Oliver had told her that she could do it, that he believed in her and so Felicity had believed that she could do it too. She knew that he had chosen the same words that she always said to him on purpose, that he had done that so she would know how strong his belief in her was. She had been aware that things had been going on around her after that but had not taken them in. His faith in her had allowed her to shut out everything until she had finally deactivated the pressure pad.

Felicity remembered that it was only after she had deactivated the pad that she had then come back to being aware of what was going on around her. _The pain on his face, his whole body shaking with the force of the electricity. _She knew that she would never forget that, she would never get the image of that moment out of her mind, it was ingrained there forever. Instantly she had known it was her turn to say those four little words again. _I believe in you._

Felicity had seen how Oliver regained his focus on hearing those words, once again drawing the final strength that he needed from her belief in him. She had seen the change as he focused on her voice, her words, and she had known then that he would make it back to her. Yet even then he had not given in, had not passed out until she had told him that he could let go.

_Even now he's still fighting to hold on. I'm the only one in here and yet he still won't fully give in to the pain. Oliver is the strongest man I've ever known, a true Hero. He called me his partner and I am proud to be that, _Felicity thought. She knew that she wanted more, that her feelings for him ran far deeper than those of a partner, a Team Member, but at the same time she didn't believe he returned those feelings. Yes, she is _his girl_, he had told her that she would always be _his girl_ and that meant more to her than she could say. But still she wanted more, she wanted to be _his girl girl _and not just _his girl._

For now though, Felicity knew that she would accept the place that he offered her in his life. She would continue to give him her belief, her faith, she would fight for him – even against Oliver himself. Already she could see that he was starting to get restless with lying still. _Resting was never his thing. _But she would not allow him to hurt himself further, she would fight for him to give himself the time he needed to heal. Felicity knew that she would win – _after all Roy had even made up one of his Lessons about going up against me,_ she thought with a hint of a smile. Yet another four little words and she realized that these four little words were just as important in their own way when it came to protecting Oliver. _Never bet against Felicity!_

* * *

**AN2: As always the Lessons are borrowed from Rennie75's fantastic fic 'Lessons Learned' - if you haven't read it you are really missing out. Her sequel is now up too so check it out :-D**

**Please do continue to be kind enough to let me know what you think with your follows/favourites/reviews - thank you! :-D**


	46. Fine

**Chapter 46 - Fine**

**AN: Huge shout out to the ever lovely Delena4eva who has been kind enough to select this fic as the "Favourite Olicity Fic for the 32 Days of Olicity" on her 17k Like Facebook page 'Olicity- Arrow' – wow what an amazing compliment, I am so honoured**!**You all know I can't put the full link to her amazing page on here but hopefully you can figure it out from this facebook com forwardstroke OliverNFelicity It's a fabulous page that I highly recommend you check out.**

**Big thanks to KenyanCougar for doing the beta on this one - thanks sweetheart! Rennie - you get to enjoy this one without having seen it first lol :-D**

_**As always, thoughts, memories, & unspoken conversations are in italics :)**_

**Disclaimer: You all know the deal, The CW owns Arrow**

* * *

Resting was never his thing._ But she would not allow him to hurt himself further, she would fight for him to give himself the time he needed to heal. Felicity knew that she would win – _after all Roy had even made up one of his Lessons about going up against me,_ she thought with a hint of a smile. Yet another four little words and she realized that these four little words were just as important in their own way when it came to protecting Oliver. _Never bet against Felicity!

**_Mixed POV_**

Felicity looked up as she saw Oliver turning his head to the entrance of the cave suddenly and she saw that Detective Lance was coming toward them. She looked to Oliver asking silently if he wanted to talk to the Detective in private or if he wanted her to stay.

Oliver saw the question in Felicity's face and looked back to Lance briefly again, gauging what it was that the Detective wanted to talk about. He saw that Lance was struggling with whatever it was he wanted to say and so Oliver looked to Felicity, asking her without speaking for the privacy that Lance clearly wanted. He did not really want her to go and Oliver knew that she was the one who was anchoring him, but at the same time he wanted to honor the Detective's wish for a private conversation. After the way that Lance had helped out at the graves, and since then as well, Oliver felt that he owed him at least that much courtesy. He also suspected that, as much as Felicity would never admit to it, she needed some time to process things for herself too.

As Lance entered the cave Felicity walked past him, she paused slightly to put her hand on his arm and gently squeezed it in reassurance and he was grateful for that. Truth be told he wasn't exactly sure what he was going to say to Oliver, but he knew that he had to have this conversation, that he owed him this. Lance was stunned to see Oliver sit up even though it was clearly a struggle as he got closer and Lance was amazed yet again by the strength that this young man displayed so clearly and yet so quietly. He never bragged about it or used it to show off. He had kept as much as he could of his abilities quiet, shunning the limelight, even after a good portion of the city had been supporting the Arrow, especially after the Undertaking.

Oliver reached for a water bottle, wincing very slightly and Lance quickly moved to grab the bottle and pass it to Oliver. The blanket had slid down as he sat up and Lance had a clear view of all the burns from Oliver's waist up. He paled slightly, sickened by them but at the same time for once he could see the strength, the determination that they showed. _Seems like Felicity's words about how to see him are starting to sink in after all, _Lance realized.

"Thank you Detective." Oliver said as he accepted the water bottle and took several small drinks from it.

"It's me who should be thanking _you _Oliver - and apologizing too." Lance replied.

Oliver looked at the Detective quizzically, not understanding what Lance could have to apologize for. "What do you mean?" He asked, his voice full of the confusion he was feeling.

Lance took a couple of deep breaths as he composed himself. This was hard for him but he knew he had to right the wrong he had done to Oliver and he had no intention of backing down, no matter how hard it was. He'd been thinking about this for some time now, but witnessing what had happened today, actually _seeing_ the way that Oliver had dealt with torture, well that had made him realize that he couldn't leave this any longer, he owed it to Oliver.

"The polygraph." Lance answered and he was surprised to see that Oliver's face still looked blank and confused.

"What about the polygraph?" Oliver questioned, not seeing where Lance could be going with this.

"I'd seen the medical report as you know, but I should never have revealed about your scars in front of Laurel. I was wrong to force you into admitting about the torture and I'm sorry for that Oliver." Lance could see that Oliver was about to say something and he quickly continued. "I didn't even give you pause to deal with having to reveal that, I just continued to come at you. Back then when you said torture, even having read the report, I had no concept of what you truly meant or what your scars were actually like. For some time now I've known that it was wrong of me and that I needed to apologize. But now, seeing what you've just done to save our lives, save _us_, and _how_ you did that I've realized even more just how badly I wronged you by acting that way and I'm sorry Oliver."

Oliver hadn't realized that the Detective had even still thought about the polygraph. It was so far down his own list of things to think about. He remembered that at the time he had been annoyed with himself for not realizing that Detective Lance would ask about the Island and he had not been impressed that Laurel had found out that way. But he had never blamed Lance for it, it had been his own idea to take the poly after all. As he had later told Laurel when she had tried to apologize for him, Lance had a right to feel any way he wanted.

"You were doing your job Detective and I was the one who suggested the poly in the first place. I should have known that you would have had access to that report and would bring up the Island. It doesn't matter anyway, Laurel would have found out sooner or later." Oliver honestly couldn't see anything wrong it what the Detective had done. No, he hadn't been happy that Laurel had found out the way she did, but it was true that she would have found out sooner or later and at least he hadn't had to start that conversation.

"I called you a stone-cold killer Oliver!" Lance said, his voice full of emotion and regret. He couldn't believe that Oliver was giving him a pass.

"I was a killer Detective. I still kill now when I have to." Oliver answered simply.

"But you're not a stone-cold killer and you do feel remorse. I had no idea what you had been through, I knew that and yet I still didn't hesitate to push you that hard. I never even bothered to stop and find out if you were okay afterwards. I just didn't care." Lance hated himself for that, for the way he had treated this man who clearly put everybody else so very far ahead of himself.

Oliver gave a small sigh, understanding that it was going to take more to get through to Lance. "What you did back then doesn't matter Detective, we've all done things that we regret – rightly or wrongly. I never thought that you needed to apologize for what happened during the polygraph – but you already did anyway." Oliver saw the look of confusion on Lance's face at that and continued to explain. "You trusted me. Both as the Arrow and as Oliver. When Laurel was in danger you came to the Arrow for help. When you needed help with Barton Mathis you came to the Arrow, hard as that must have been for you. When Laurel was falling hard with the alcohol you came to Oliver, you trusted _me_ to help her."

Lance thought about that for a minute, taking the time to consider Oliver's words. As much as he still felt that he had needed to properly apologize, he realized that Oliver was right, he had trusted him and gone to him for help. He suddenly noticed the way that Oliver had referred to himself. "You know it's weird the way you refer to yourself in the third person like that, right?"

Oliver laughed at that. "So I've been told, on more than one occasion."

Lance was pleased to see the grin that remained on Oliver's face after his laugh. It was something he had never thought to see there today and he was glad that he had had some involvement in putting it there. Lance got up to leave Oliver to rest in peace as he could see that the younger man was more tired than he was trying to let on. "Can I get you anything Oliver, is there anything you need?"

"No Detective, I'm fine." Oliver replied and he grinned again slightly as he saw Lance rolling his eyes at the word 'fine'. He had known it would cause that reaction and that was why he had specifically chosen to say it. That was half the reason that he continued to use that word so much. As much as he knew it annoyed his teammates, it nearly always lightened the moment at the same time and so it was worth it.

"Thank you for all your help today though Detective, it didn't go unnoticed." Now that he had relieved the mood a bit Oliver wanted to make sure that Lance knew how much he appreciated all his help. "I know how hard it is out here, how much this Island throws at you in a very short space of time, and yet you kept going. You've done everything we've asked without question and, although we don't find it easy to say this kind of stuff, all of us on Team Arrow are grateful for that, I'm grateful for it." Oliver took another small drink of water before laying back down, effectively ending the conversation even though he could still see Lance.

Lance nodded in acknowledgement of Oliver's words. He didn't feel that they needed to thank him for anything at all – it was him that needed to thank _them_, but he could see that Oliver really needed to rest and didn't want to talk any further so he let the matter lie. He quickly glanced at the water bottle, checking that there was still enough water in it, before he then left the cave so that Oliver could get some rest.

Sara was waiting for her Dad a short way away from the cave entrance, she had heard everything of course even though he didn't know that. Sara knew that Oliver would have known that she was there and that he could have easily given her a sign to leave without her Dad noticing if he had wanted her to. She had been surprised at the comments about a polygraph as neither man, nor her sister, had told her about that. Diggle had told her that Oliver had been arrested for being the Vigilante so she assumed that the polygraph must have taken place then.

She wasn't happy to hear that her Dad had been the one who revealed the information about Oliver's scars to Laurel in the first place, nor that he had forced Oliver into telling them that he had been tortured. Regardless of what Oliver had said, Sara knew that that would have been hard on him. However as her Dad had now apologized, and Oliver seemed willing to accept it, she decided to not say anything about it, choosing instead to focus on what was happening now.

"Are you okay Dad?" Sara asked, knowing that it would be reasonable enough for her to check up on how he was doing.

"Yeah, sure sweetheart, I just needed to talk to Oliver for a minute." Lance answered tiredly. Everything they had been through that day already had drained him more than he had realized or expected. _How Team Arrow can keep going without seeming to need to rest or even catch a breath is beyond me. _"What about you though, are _you_ okay Sara?"

"I'm fine Dad." Sara replied with a half-hearted smile that did little to convince him of how his daughter was really doing. At the same time he noticed that she too had used the word 'fine' and again he rolled his eyes. _Will either of them ever admit to how they really are? _Lance couldn't help but wonder with a small sigh.

* * *

**AN2: Really hope you all liked it - please be kind enough to review and let me know, thank you!**


End file.
